Spring Misery
by miss37
Summary: This is one of my old CSI: New York stories. I wrote this story a few years ago upon suggestion from a friend. Was published before.
1. Chapter 1

**Spring Misery**

Mac Taylor stepped out of his apartment building feeling miserable. He looked at the yellow pollen-covered world outside. His sinuses sure knew where all the pollen was and so did his throat and eyes. It was still early in the spring but there had not been much of a winter and now the pollen was so thick, it looked like a haze in the city. Mac sighed as he trudged out to the Avalanche which did not even look black this morning. It was a dull yellow color. He had always liked the spring but he did not like the pollen that came with it especially when he had to go out to a crime scene which was down at the harbor.

As Mac was driving, he groaned as he saw the pollen even blowing across the street. His sinuses felt like they were almost twice as big as his head and they were just crammed inside his skull and trying to burst their way out. He could not take any allergy medicine today because he had to work and that stuff always made him feel worse and sleepy even when he took the non-drowsy kind. He was going to take two days off after today to get started on some allergy medicine so he could get used to it and it would not affect him so much.

Mac arrived at the crime scene to find a group of reporters standing at the crime scene tape. He got his forensics kit and headed that way. Of course, the reporters knew he had arrived so they wanted to ask him all kinds of questions before he even saw the body. "I don't know anything yet," he said. "I have not even seen the crime scene yet."

Mac went on over to where Don Flack was waiting and holding a handkerchief over his nose and mouth. "Morning," he said, his voice muffled.

"Morning," Mac replied. "Pollen getting to you too?"

"Oh, you know it. I have not had such a miserable allergy in years."

"Me neither." Mac felt a sneeze coming on and he felt like his eyes were pouring water all the time, but as he looked around, he thought everyone else looked like they were having the same problem because they were all holding a tissue or wearing a mask.

Mac grabbed his handkerchief and sneezed twice. He looked at Don. "I hope this doesn't get any worse," he said.

"If it does, I am going to have to take some time off," Don replied.

"So, what have we got?"

"A male victim, forty-three years old, New York address. He looks pretty banged up. I don't think he was killed here but I guess that is for you to decide."

"What makes you think he was not killed here?" Mac asked.

"Well, he's dressed in pajamas."

Mac scowled and looked toward the victim. There was a man lying on his back wearing blue and white striped pajamas. He had on no shoes and from the position of his legs, Mac thought they both looked broken. He looked at Don. "What's the victim's name?" he asked.

"Archie Woods," Don said. "He's a real estate broker and I found out that he has been missing for almost two weeks."

"Any ideas where he has been?"

"I haven't gotten that deep into it yet."

"Let me know what you find out. Who found this body?"

Don pointed to a man standing beside the rail of the boardwalk. "He says he came down here to fish and he found this guy lying here between these garbage cans. Says he didn't see anyone or anything."

Mac took pictures of the body and the crime scene. Then he squatted beside the body. "His legs are definitely broken," he said. He took more pictures of the legs. "A lot of contusions."

Just then, Danny arrived. "I'm here," he said. He walked over to the body. "What have we got?"

"A guy who looks like he's been tortured," Mac said as he was looking at the victim's hands. "Looks like he has several broken fingers."

Danny was looking at the guy's legs. "Wow, what happened to this guy," he wondered out loud.

"I don't know but it doesn't look like something that should happen to someone wearing pajamas."

Danny scowled. "That's right," he agreed. He looked at Mac. "You think this guy was tortured in a bed or something?"

"He was tortured somewhere or he was in an accident."

"Maybe he went out to get the paper or mail in his pajamas and got hit by a car."

"And got thrown here?"

"Maybe the person panicked and brought him here."

Mac considered that. "Why? That doesn't make any sense."

"Maybe the person was an ex-con or maybe they were texting while driving."

"That's not as bad as what it will be now."

Mac turned the body on its side and looked. "There are no gunshot wounds or stab wounds," he said. "It looks like he was tortured to death."

"Question is: by whom?"

Mac and Danny searched more of the crime scene area but did not find any more evidence. "So, now we have a guy who's been tortured to death by some unknown person," Danny said.

"He has been missing for almost two weeks," Mac said. "He was on the missing person's list. He's a real estate broker."

"You think maybe someone who was renting one of his properties kidnapped him?"

"We've got a lot of work to do."

Mac talked to the man who found the body but he had not seen anyone around. Mac and Danny went back to the lab. Danny went to work on what evidence they had while Mac went into the missing person's database. He found that the victim had disappeared while he was going out to check out a problem with a house he was renting to someone. The person whose house he was supposed to work on said that he had never arrived and there was no sign that he had ever arrived. No one in the area had seen him. Mac thought that was strange. No one just drops off the face of the earth and then suddenly shows up tortured to death. Mac was beginning to think this had been planned and carried out without error but he would find out who did it.

Danny came into the office after he got done with some of the evidence. "No prints on the wallet or anything except the victim's prints," he said. "We just got the pajamas from the morgue. Lindsey is going over them now."

Mac leaned back in his chair and thought. "Where has this guy been all this time?" he wondered out loud.

"Maybe Sid can shed some light on that."

Mac looked at his watch. "We'll give him a little more time," he said.

"I'll help Lindsey."

Mac grabbed a tissue as he sneezed again. He rubbed his head. This was going to be a difficult case if for no other reason, because of this allergy he had. He took some aspirin to help until he could take something else. He hoped he could get this case solved soon so he could take his two days. He had been planning to start those two days tomorrow but now that he had a new case, he would have to get it solved before he could take any days.

When Mac and Danny walked out of the elevator at the morgue, Sid was finished with the autopsy. "Morning," Sid said.

"Morning," Mac said as he was wiping his nose again.

"Allergies getting to you?"

"They sure are. What have you got, Sid?"

"Well, your victim was definitely tortured," Sid said as he walked over to the body. He held up x-rays. "Both his legs are broken, the right arm, seven of his fingers, all of his toes and four ribs."

Mac and Danny stared at the x-rays. "This guy endured all this?" Danny asked.

"What was the cause of death?" Mac asked.

"One of the broken ribs punctured a lung," Sid said. "The poor guy drowned in his own blood."

Mac frowned as he looked at the x-rays and the autopsy report. "So, he 'was' basically tortured to death."

"I have no doubt that these injuries were intentional." Sid pointed to the x-rays. "If you look closely at the x-ray of the broken toes and feet, you can see that it's almost like a crush injury and also the broken fingers are like they were just snapped."

Mac swallowed hard. He had seen people who had been tortured before. "Thanks, Sid," he said.

Mac and Danny went back to the lab. "Wow, that was some horrible experience," Danny said.

"Looks like a crime of hate," Mac said. "Why does anyone do something like that?"

"Could be a crime of passion too."

"Jealousy?"

"Either of those things."

Mac thought a moment. "We have to figure out who had something against this guy," he said. "He was a real estate broker. Who would have something against him?"

Danny considered that. "Maybe he cheated someone or raised someone's rent."

"And they would go to all those lengths for it?" Mac shook his head. "No, it must be something deeper than that."

"Maybe a jealous wife or girlfriend?"

Mac looked at the report. "Doesn't say he was married…divorced though. Maybe that is something to do with it."

"So, we have to track down his ex-wife, people who work in his company and the people who rented from him."

"Yes. And I want to know who's been running that company while he was away too."

"Right. Someone has to be taking charge."

"I think we have a lot of suspects."


	2. Chapter 2

Mac wrote out his report of the events so far and about the crime scene and the victim. Lindsey came into his office. "This guy had been wearing those pajamas for a long time," she said. "Or it seems that way." She gave Mac her report. "Every kind of bodily fluid was on them…from urine, blood, sweat, vomit…you name it."

Mac looked at the report. "What happened to this guy?" he wondered out loud.

"There were no traces of dirt on the pajamas but there was something on the cuff of one of the sleeves. It turned out to be mold."

"Mold?"

"Yes. Maybe he was kept in an old house or tried to escape and touched something." Lindsey gave Mac another report. "I also had some scrapings from the fingernails that Sid sent up. There were traces of red brick under them as well as sheetrock and mold too."

Mac frowned. "He must have tried to get away."

Lindsey folded her arms. "You think someone held him captive and tortured him?"

"That's what it looks like. The victim was in his pajamas and he has all these broken bones and this report makes it look even more like it."

Just then, Sid came into the lab from the elevator. He came to Mac's office. "I found something else," he said. "Upon further examination of the body, I found what looks like imprints of whatever was used to torture the victim."

Mac looked at Sid's report. "So, somebody hit him with something," he said.

"That's what it looks like." Sid folded his arms. "I'm telling you, Mac. Those injuries on the toes…the imprints look like a sledge hammer…maybe the ball end."

"Well, I know the man didn't do this to himself."

Mac stood up. "We have to find some suspects," he said. He looked at Sid. "If you find anything else, let me know."

"Yes sir," Sid replied. He headed back to the elevator.

Lindsey looked at Mac. "Who do we start with?" she asked.

"First, I want to know where the victim was going when he disappeared," Mac said. "Then we'll go from there."

Mac got the full police report about the day that Archie Woods was reported missing. His secretary had reported him missing two days after he had gone. Mac thought that was strange. He wondered why she did not report it when he did not come back to the company after going to check out that house. He had a lot of investigating to do. He went into the lab where Danny was making out his final report on the evidence. "Let's go," Mac said.

"Just one more thing," Danny said. He finished what he was doing and put it away. "Where we going?"

"To see Carol Duncan, Mr. Woods' secretary," Mac answered as they were going to the elevator. "I want to know why it took her two days to report him missing."

"Good question."

They went down to the Avalanche and headed for Woods Construction, Mortgage and Rental. "This guy has only been in business for a few years but he has six owners with mortgages and five who rent," Danny said as he was looking over the records. "Question is: which of these houses was the problem?"

"It had to be one of the rental properties," Mac said. "When you own a place, you have to fix it yourself."

"Right." Danny considered that. "I guess it is easier to rent, right?"

"I don't know. I wouldn't mind owning my own place."

"I guess Lindsey would like us to own our own place. She grew up in the wide-open spaces with plenty of room to grow and all. Maybe we should move to Montana and own a ranch and start dressing like country people."

Mac smiled but then he felt a sneeze coming. He grabbed his handkerchief and sneezed. "I wonder if the allergies are worse over there than here," he said.

"I don't know. I guess they don't call it _hay fever_ for nothing."

"Maybe not."

They soon arrived at the company which was out at the edge of the city close to the harbor. It seemed to have a lumber company as well. Mac could smell the fresh wood as they were walking toward the office even though his nose was stopped up and he could not smell much. "That's a great smell," Danny commented. "Don't you just love the smell of fresh wood?"

"About as much as the smell of fresh cut grass right now," Mac said.

They went into the office which was surprisingly cold. Mac was glad he had on his suit jacket even though the weather was warm outside. Danny folded his arms because he was in his usual attire of jeans and a polo shirt. "Wow, it's cold in here," he said.

"I guess there is some benefit to wearing a suit in the warm weather after all," Mac said.

"Yeah, you don't have to freeze to death in these cold buildings."

They walked over to the reception desk which looked just like a wood panel desk that had been built out of extra wood that had come from the lumber mill. The woman at the desk had red hair and it was done up in a tight bun on the back of her head and she wore cat-eye glasses that did not hide bright blue eyes. "May I help you?" she asked.

"I am Detective Mac Taylor, this is Detective Messer." Mac showed her his badge. "We're here about your boss, Archie Woods."

"You found him?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I'm sorry to tell you this, but he's been murdered."

The woman looked surprised. "Murdered?"

"Are you Carol Duncan?"

"Yes," the woman said.

"We have a report that you didn't report him missing until two days after he went out to take care of some sort of problem at a house."

"Yes, I did report him missing."

"Why did you not report him missing when he didn't return?"

"Because he said he wouldn't be back that day. He was going to take a day off but when he didn't show up the next day, I tried to call him and I could not get in touch with him. I went to his house but he was not there and neither was his car so I reported him missing. You know, they never found his car."

Mac scowled. "So, he just disappeared," he said.

"Yes and we didn't know where he was at all."

"Whose house was he going to work on?" Danny asked.

"That Mrs. Robinson," Carol said. "That woman was always having some sort of problem. She called Mr. Woods all the time."

Mac wrote that down. "Did he ever report her for harassment?" he asked.

"No. Mr. Woods would never do that. She was one of his renters after all. He was responsible for the house. Although, it never seemed to have all those problems until she moved in. He never saw the bad in people but that woman gave me the creeps." Carol looked sad. "How was he murdered?"

"I can't give you any details about that, Ma'am," Mac said. "But it looks like he died a pretty gruesome death and we want to find whoever did it."

"I'll help you any way I can but I'm afraid I've told you everything I know."

"Who's in charge here since Mr. Woods has been gone?" Danny asked.

"His son, Benny. He took over after we realized that Mr. Woods was missing. Someone had to run things."

"Do you know anything about his personal life?" Mac asked. "Did he have any girlfriends?"

"Not that I know of," Carol answered. "I think he still loved his ex-wife. He was always talking about her and that he hoped they could get back together some day."

"Had she made it look like there was a chance of that?"

"No. It didn't seem like it to me. She looked like she despised him to me."

"And what is her name?"

"Rhonda Jernigan. Do you think she would have killed him?"

"That's what we're going to find out, Ma'am. We need a list of the people who have mortgages here and who rent along with the addresses. We also need to talk to Benny Woods."

"Yes, sir. I'll get that information for you and I'll call Mr. Benny."

Mac and Danny walked away from the desk. "What do you think?" Danny asked. "You think she's too cooperative?"

Mac considered that. "I don't know," he said. "She seems honest. I think there's something else weird going on with this case."

"Who has kept this guy for two weeks?"

"That's the question. Who could keep this guy for two weeks and no one knows it?"

"I can tell this case is going to keep me up nights."

"Too many questions."

Soon a young man came from the office area dressed in a white shirt and khaki pants. "Hello, Detectives," he said and shook their hands. "You found my father?"

"Yes, I'm sorry you had to learn about it this way," Mac said.

"And you say he was murdered?"

"Yes."

The young man sighed and looked down at the floor. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"Can we talk in private?" Mac asked.

Benny Woods looked at them a moment. "Sure," he said. "Come with me."

Mac and Danny followed Woods to his office, which was a very large office with a couch along with two chairs and a large desk with a reclining desk chair behind it. "Have a seat," Woods said.

Mac and Danny sat down in the chairs. "Mr. Woods," Mac said. "We're sorry about your loss but I have to ask you some questions so we can try and figure out what happened to your father."

Woods frowned. "It's alright, Detective," he said. "I knew something had happened to him because he would never have disappeared like that. Some people tried to say that he probably just skipped the country because he was tired of his life but I knew better than that. I figured he was dead. I gave him up a week after he was gone. Sometimes you just know."

"Do you know of anyone your father was having trouble with?" Mac asked.

"My father was a good man. I don't know of anyone who would want to hurt him." Woods stared at Mac a moment. "Can you tell me what happened to him? How did he die?"

"Well, it looks like he died a gruesome death. He had several broken bones and he was dressed in pajamas."

"Pajamas? Why would he be dressed in pajamas?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out. I'm sure he didn't have on pajamas when he left here."

"I don't have an answer for that unless he went home and was kidnapped from there but why would he just now show up?"

"I don't think he was wearing pajamas when he was kidnapped. This case has me puzzled, but I want to know why he was not reported missing until two days after he went missing."

"I was out of town when this happened but I returned the day he was reported missing."

"You didn't have any contact with him during the time you were gone?"

"I left town the day he disappeared, I was in a meeting all day the next day and I came back the next. That was when I learned he was missing."

Mac wrote that down. "The secretary mentioned a Mrs. Robinson," he said. "You know anything about her?"

Woods rolled his eyes. "A pest!" he said. "That's the word for her. She was always complaining about something. I would say she called this office more than once a week for any little thing that she thought was wrong. I mean, who can't get some liquid plumber and unstop their sink?"

"So, she called all the time. And did your father go out there every time?"

"He did some of the time but we have a maintenance man who works part time but she would demand that things get fixed that day when she called. It was funny that most of the time when she called was when the maintenance man was off."

"Did you tell the police all this?"

"Sure I did." Woods stared at him a moment. "You mean you think she might have done something to my father?"

"I don't know," Mac said. "How old is this woman?"

"Probably in her late forties or fifties."

"What about Mr. Woods' ex-wife? Your mother?"

Benny Woods stared at Mac. "My mother would never hurt my father," he declared. "How dare you suggest it."

"Hey," Danny said. "We're just trying to get at all the facts."

"I'm sorry but my mother would never hurt my father. They were apart but they were not enemies."

"That's not what your secretary said," Mac said.

Woods leaned on the desk. "The secretary doesn't know as much as she thinks she does and she better watch her mouth or she will be looking for a job."

"What about the other people who rent these houses and who have mortgages?" Mac asked.

"We hardly get any complaints from them."

"Is Mrs. Robinson still living in this house?"

"Yes."

"She still calls all the time?"

Woods scowled. "Now that you mention it, she hasn't called in quite a while."

Mac and Danny looked at each other and then stood up. "Thank you for your time," Mac said as he shook hands with Woods. "Again, we're sorry for your loss."

"Just find out who killed him."

Mac and Danny left the office. "Sounds like this Mrs. Robinson might have been a little obsessed," Danny said.

"Could be but things are not always what they seem," Mac replied.

"So, who's our next suspect?"

"Looks like Mrs. Robinson deserves a visit."


	3. Chapter 3

Mac and Danny drove out to the subdivision where Mrs. Robinson lived. It was a neighborhood partially outside the city with several houses and trees, even grass. "Looks like a nice neighborhood," Danny said. "It's hard to believe that someone could keep someone out here for two weeks and no one knows it."

"You never know," Mac said and sneezed. "There have been a lot of things going on in neighborhoods that shocked the whole country because no one knew it."

"Yes, I know it."

"Let's just get to this house and see this woman."

They soon arrived at the brick house which was not very big but would not be considered small either. It had a one-car garage and a front porch. Mac and Danny pulled into the driveway and walked up to the front door. "Quiet out here," Danny remarked as he pressed the doorbell button.

Mac glanced around them at some of the other houses. "We're being watched," he said.

"Watched?"

"I'll bet these people around here see everything that happens."

"Then how could this woman have kept Mr. Woods here for two weeks and no one know it? How could they not know if he came out here?"

"Good questions."

They heard the door unlocking and looked as it opened to reveal a woman who was most likely in her early fifties. She had red hair that was straight and shoulder length and did not look like there was a hair out of place. She had green eyes and very pale skin. She was wearing a dark pink house dress with slippers to match. She stared at them a moment. "May I help you?" she asked.

Mac and Danny were stunned by her way of asking the question for a moment. "Are you Mrs. Robinson?" Mac asked.

"Who are you?"

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor."

The woman pulled a pair of glasses from her pocket and put them on and stared at Mac's badge a moment. She looked into his eyes with a piercing gaze. "So you're the real thing," she said.

"Ma'am, I'm the head of the crime lab in New York and this is my partner, Danny Messer. We need to ask you some questions if you don't mind."

"Why should I mind? I don't have a thing in the world to do."

Danny glanced at Mac wondering if he got the same creepy feeling he was getting. The woman opened the door wider and Mac did not know if he wanted to go in there or not. The smell was a mixture of moth balls and cinnamon. Mac could feel water welling up in his eyes already. "Can we talk outside since it is such a beautiful day?" Mac asked trying to avoid going inside.

"I hardly ever go outside," the woman said. "Too many nosey neighbors."

Mac walked on into the house wishing he had a mask with him but he was not sure it would help against this odor which was quite strong. He could not help but sneeze. "Excuse me," he said. "I'm having some trouble with allergies."

"Isn't everyone?" the woman asked. "That's another reason I don't like going outside."

They walked into the living room which had a blue striped sofa and chair, a coffee table with a lamp and a small entertainment center with a TV and DVD player along with a small stereo. Mac did not think this place looked strange in any way but it looked quaint and simple.

"So, what are these questions you're wanting to ask?" Mrs. Robinson asked.

"You remember Archie Woods?" Mac asked.

"Of course I remember him. He was my landlord. He disappeared not long ago."

"About two weeks ago, Ma'am. He was found murdered this morning."

Mrs. Robinson's mouth dropped open. The first emotion Mac and Danny had seen out of her. "Murdered?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Why are you wanting to ask me questions about that? I don't know anything about a murder."

"Ma'am, the day he disappeared, he was coming to your house to do some repairs?"

"Yes, I remember. He never arrived."

"Did you call his office and tell them that he never arrived?"

"Of course I did. They said he probably had other business to attend to and that he would get to me when he could."

Mac wrote that down. "Was there ever any other time that he did not arrive when he was doing some work for you?" he asked.

"No. He was always nice and courteous…not like that maintenance man they hired. That's why I always asked for Mr. Woods. He was nice and treated me like somebody. That maintenance man never did anything right. He knew I was an old woman and he did not care whether he did it right or not. I have severe arthritis and I can't do much on my own although I live alone. I can do the simple things but I can't fix things and unclog drains."

"Yes, Ma'am. I understand that. Has the house had a lot of problems since you moved in?"

"I wouldn't say a lot but it has had problems like any other house you live in. They all have problems."

"Right. Did you ever meet anyone else who worked for Mr. Woods? Were they courteous?"

"Most of them were but I met that ex-wife of his once when I had to go to the office. She was quite a hornet. No wonder the man divorced her."

"Wait a minute," Danny said. "_He_ divorced _her_?"

"That's the way I understood it. She was too controlling and wanted to spend all the money. She took the money and spent it all on herself rather than pay the bills."

"We were told that he still loved her and wanted to get back with her."

"Maybe he did but that winch would drive anyone crazy."

"How do you know so much about him and his personal life?"

"Well, when he was here working for me, we talked."

Mac and Danny looked at each other. They thought they had been led down the wrong path. Mac looked at Mrs. Robinson. "So, you got to know him pretty well then," Mac said.

"I would say I did," Mrs. Robinson replied. "I liked for him to come. He reminded me of my son and he treated me like somebody." She sighed. "I'm sad to hear that he's dead."

"Thank you for your time, Ma'am," Mac said. He stood up and shook hands with Mrs. Robinson. "You've been a big help."

"You're welcome. I'm always glad to help the police."

Mac and Danny went out the door. "Well, that just boils my beans," Danny said when he and Mac were walking to the Avalanche. "Why did they direct us to this old lady?"

"That's something that I want to figure out," Mac said. "And why did they make it look like Rhonda Jernigan divorced her husband when it was he who divorced her?"

"That's a good question. Even the secretary thought she looked like she despised him but she thought he wanted to get married again but the son said they were not enemies."

"Uh huh. Children don't want to see their parents as enemies. They want them to be their parents. Maybe he still wanted that even though he was grown. He was just conveniently out of town when his father disappeared. Don't you find it odd that he didn't know he was missing until he got back into town? Why didn't he try to contact his father before he came back to town? He worked for his company. Why wouldn't he call and let him know how the meeting went?"

Mac scratched his head. "Too many questions," he said.

"Well, I'm telling you, Mac. I don't think that little old lady in there had anything to do with this. She reminds me of my grandma, only my grandma is older."

"Looks can be deceiving but I don't think she has anything to do with this either. She seems like a lonely old lady that needed someone and she just called him because he treated her like somebody."

"What about this ex-wife?"

"We're going to see her next." Mac looked at his watch. "But first, I want something to eat for lunch. I'm sick and I'm tired and I'm miserable and I don't want to be hungry on top of all that."

"I have to call Lindsey and let her know we're stopping when we get there."

Mac pressed the bridge of his nose. He wished he could get rid of this sinus pressure but he supposed he would have to live with it like everyone else. He wanted to figure out this case. Someone had held that man captive for two weeks and tortured him and when he finally died, they threw him out close to the harbor…which was close to his own company. Mac was puzzled by this case and he wanted to know how to get the pieces together and see the whole picture. Their next stop would be Rhonda Jernigan…and Mac hoped she could shed some light on the situation.


	4. Chapter 4

When Mac and Danny got to the deli, Danny started to call Lindsey to let her know that they were going to eat, but when he got inside, she was there too. "Hey, I guess I don't have to call you," Danny said.

Lindsey smiled. "I was hoping we would get to eat together," she replied.

Mac watched as Danny and Lindsey walked away together arm in arm. He sighed as he took a number and stood in line…or in the crowd. He did not think he would call it a line. Everyone just stood around and waited for their number to be called. He remembered when he and Claire used to come to this diner together. Claire loved standing around waiting for their number to be called. She considered it fun to listen for their number and yell "that's me!" She had said it made her feel like she was on Wall Street at the Stock Exchange. Mac smiled as he thought of her enthusiasm about everything.

"Excuse me!" someone said.

Mac looked around to see a woman trying to get around him. "I'm sorry," he said as he stepped back.

The woman had short brown hair and brown eyes and she looked at Mac as though she could see right through him. "That was my number he called," she said.

Mac was surprised at her haughtiness. She got her food and then turned back toward Mac. "It's easier for people to get to the counter if people don't block it," she said.

Mac stared at her a moment. "I didn't know I was blocking it," he replied.

The woman looked at him right in the eye. Mac thought she had a very strong personality and not a bit of shyness. She was almost as tall as he was and very pretty. She looked him up and down as though she were inspecting him. "Not bad," she said and walked away.

Mac stared after her with a puzzled look. He shook his head and blew out a breath. He thought of the case they were working on. They would be going to see Rhonda Jernigan after lunch. He wondered what she would be like. Her son claimed that she would never murder his father and that they were not enemies but the secretary claimed that she thought the woman despised her husband. Mac had never met the woman so he did not know yet. He hoped they could figure out what happened to that man. He did not think Mrs. Robinson had anything to do with Archie Woods' disappearance. Besides the fact that he thought she was not lying, she also had severe arthritis. He remembered her saying that. She could not have captured the man like that unless she hit him with something…but could she hit him that hard? Mac thought he would have to go into the weapons lab and experiment to see how hard someone would have to hit and what kind of hammer was used on the victim. He thought it had been a sledge hammer but he could not be sure until he experimented.

As Mac waited for his food, he started to pay attention to his miserable sinuses. When he got still like he was now, he could feel all the pressure and it made him want to just go home and curl up in bed and not come out. He supposed if he solved this murder, he would deserve a few days off. After all, he never took time off and he wanted some now. He was sick and he had to have time to recover. He suddenly felt a sneeze coming. He grabbed his handkerchief and sneezed twice. It was so embarrassing to sneeze in public especially in a crowded place and this one was certainly crowded.

Just then, Danny came over to Mac. "Hey, Mac," he said. "We just got another call."

Mac looked at him. "You and Lindsey go ahead and take it," he said. "I'll go and interview Rhonda Jernigan."

"You sure?"

"Yes I'm sure."

Danny stared at him a moment. "You should get something for that allergy."

"Don't remind me. I can't take something that is going to put me to sleep. I'm going to take some time off after this case is over."

"Great." Danny slapped Mac on the back as he walked away. "Take care."

Mac looked at Danny with one of his tolerant looks. He thought Danny always wanted to exacerbate a situation…or he just wanted to be sarcastic and humorous. Mac finally got his food and went to a table. He wondered if Danny and Lindsey even ate. Lindsey had already been there when they arrived. He thought they must have shared her lunch.

Mac ate his tasteless food and then went out to the Avalanche which was still a dull yellow color. He had heard that there was a lot of rain coming soon so maybe it would settle some of this pollen. He headed for Rhonda Jernigan's workplace first, since she was a psychologist. He hoped she did not try to get around him by trying to analyze him but he had no idea if she killed her ex-husband or not. Maybe she would not be sad that he was dead but that did not mean she killed him. After all, they had been divorced a long time.

Mac arrived at the clinic where Rhonda Jernigan worked and went inside. It was surprisingly comfortable in the building. It was not too cold or too warm. The waiting room was painted blue and had black furniture with blue designs in it and there were books and magazines around for people to read while they waited. There were two people in the waiting room. One of them was looking at a magazine. He looked over the top of the magazine at Mac but quickly jerked it up in front of his face when he realized Mac was looking at him. Mac walked on to the desk where the secretary was typing on her computer. She had long, blond hair and dark blue eyes. "Hi," she said. "May I help you?"

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I need to talk to Rhonda Jernigan."

"She's in a session right now."

"When her session is over, I need to talk to her before she starts another one."

"Yes, sir."

Mac walked over to the waiting room and sat down in a chair. He figured the magazines were all out of date like usual in a waiting room but he found that they were all up to date. He supposed when one came to a psychologist, they wanted them to be comfortable and not have any irritations while they waited. Mac realized the man with the magazine was looking over the book at him again. "Nice, warm day out there, isn't it?" Mac asked.

The man's eyes widened as though he were surprised that Mac would say anything to him. He hid behind the magazine again. Mac looked at the woman who was sitting in the waiting room. She gave him a seductive look. Mac was surprised by that. She even crossed her legs and pulled her skirt up a little further although it was already short. Mac picked up one of the magazines and found an article to read. He figured he should know there were people in a psychiatric waiting room with problems.

Mac sat there for thirty minutes with the woman flirting with him and the guy hiding behind the magazine and peeping over it. He was glad when the secretary told him that he could go in. She showed him to the office. Mac was shocked when he walked in and saw Rhonda Jernigan. "Well, we meet again," she said.

Mac stared at her a moment, the woman whom he had met at the deli. "You're Rhonda Jernigan?" he asked.

"Isn't that what it says on my office door?"

Mac nodded. "I'm investigating the murder of your ex-husband."

"I don't know anything about that."

Mac took his notepad out and sat down in one of the chairs. "You can take the couch if you'd like," Rhonda said. "It might help with those allergies if you rested a while."

Mac looked at her. "Thanks, but I'm going to take a few days off for this."

"Suit yourself."

"You and Mr. Woods have been divorced for six years?" Mac asked.

"Yes," Rhonda replied. "I had just started my college for psychology two years before we divorced."

"What was the reason for your divorce?"

Rhonda leaned on her desk. "Money. Isn't that what it always is?"

"No but sometimes it is." Mac paused a moment. "How long had it been since you saw him?"

"Not long. You know even after you're divorced, you still have to have contact with the person sometimes."

"Even after six years?"

"Sometimes."

"How was your marriage?"

"It was happy at first but I guess we just drifted apart."

"I was told that you spent all the money on yourself and didn't pay the bills."

Rhonda stared at Mac a moment. "Maybe I was a little extravagant for his taste but I like to keep myself looking good. Archie never cared about looks. He would just say, 'Oh, you're beautiful no matter how your hair looks'. That's not what I wanted to hear. I wanted to hear him say that he liked what I had done. I guess spending all the money was my way of rebelling."

"So, he divorced you."

"Yes but I didn't care. I didn't love him anymore anyway. He cared more for his company than me. I worked and scratched my way to where I am now. And now I can do what I want. Why would I kill him? He had nothing to do with what I do now."

"But you've never remarried."

"Why go through all that again? Aren't all men the same?"

"No."

Rhonda looked at Mac as though she could see into his heart. "You want to show me that they're not?" she asked.

Mac was surprised by that question. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Why don't we have dinner some time? We can talk and get to know each other."

"I don't think that would be a good idea since I'm working on this case about your husband."

"Well, you won't always be. Maybe I can help you forget your past."

Mac sat up straighter. "How do you know I need to forget it?"

"I can always tell when people are bothered by their past."

"Did your husband ever say anything to you about someone threatening him?" Mac asked getting back to the subject.

"No. I don't see why anyone would threaten him. He was not a violent person or one that someone couldn't get along with. We just grew apart."

"How did your son feel about your divorce?"

"Well, of course he was upset about it. He was a teenager at the time but he learned that we both love him and that would never change no matter whether we were together or not." Rhonda looked at Mac a moment. "I didn't have a reason to kill my husband. I have what I want now and I didn't have anything against him. He even helped me pay for my education."

Mac did not think this woman sounded like someone who would have murdered her husband and he did not think it sounded like they were enemies. Maybe the son was right. Rhonda looked at her watch. "If there's nothing else, Detective Taylor, I have to get to my patients," she said. "They get upset when they have to wait too long."

Mac stood up. "Thanks for your time," he said.

Rhonda gave Mac a card. "You can call me sometime if you want to talk about something besides work."

Mac looked at the card a moment but then took it. He looked into Rhonda's brown eyes and wondered if she could help him forget some things he needed to forget. He figured she could get his mind off everything. He cleared his throat with that thought. "Thanks."

Mac left that office and headed out to the Avalanche as he blew out a breath. Well, he thought that was another dead end. He did not think that woman had anything to do with her husband's death. He thought he better go out there on the road that went to Mrs. Robinson's house and see if he could find anything out there. Something had to happen to Archie Woods before he got to that house. Mac just had to figure out what.

Mac drove out to the road that led to Mrs. Robinson's house which was a very rural road. Even though the neighborhood was a nice one, it was far out of the city and the road that led out there had a lot of forest on it and he could see other small houses on the road. He could not understand how no one would be able to see what happened to the man. Mac slowed down as he drove down the road. The road was a little curvy in places and he thought it would probably be dangerous at times. He knew that Mr. Woods had been going out to Mrs. Robinson's home pretty late and it had still been pretty early in the year so it was probably a little dark. Mac looked at the lighting on the road which was sparse to say the least. He knew it would be pretty dark out here on this road at night.

As Mac was driving, he could see skid marks on the road but there were a lot of them and he could not tell how old any of them were. He wondered why there were so many skid marks. He thought there must be something out here that caused people to slam on their breaks. He figured it could be animals. There were always animals around on roads like this one. He drove on and did not see anything that looked unusual. Of course, Mr. Woods had disappeared over a month ago and whatever signs might have been left then would surely be gone by now. Anyone who might have seen him would most likely have forgotten it by now. He had read the report and no one seemed to know anything. The police had given up because there were no clues as to what happened to the man and there was no sign of foul play or anything else. That had changed now though because the man's body had shown up dumped out at the harbor and it did not get there on its own. Mac thought a moment. He supposed Woods could have been in an accident out here on this road…but who would have found him and kept him like that? Why would it not be reported?

Mac pulled over to the side of the road in a small space that looked like it was made for such a purpose and looked at the report. He had started for Mrs. Robinson's house at 5 so it would have been starting to get dark. Mac looked around him at the woods and the area around the place. There were some deep ravines here that could swallow up something but he thought all this would have been examined when the man disappeared. There had to be something that they were missing and he intended to find out what that was. When Mrs. Robinson had told the office that Mr. Woods did not arrive, they had told her that he must have had other business. Like what? Where would he stop off on the way to work on someone's house? Was that a habit? He had a lot of unanswered questions but he was beginning to think that none of the people on the suspects list had anything to do with the murder. He thought this was something random and unplanned because none of the people he had interviewed so far seemed like murderers and none of them seemed to have anything to hide.

Mac pulled out onto the road again. It was still several miles to Mrs. Robinson's house and the neighborhood. He had read in the police report that someone had reported seeing Mr. Woods' car pass by. He had a red convertible and it was noticeable out here. The people here had seen it several times since he came this way all the time to work at Mrs. Robinson's house. Of course, the man who had seen the car only saw it passing by because he was on his way to the mailbox. Mac was about to come up to that house now. He pulled into the driveway and checked the address. It was the right house so he got out. He immediately heard a dog barking. The house was surrounded by big Oak trees. Mac thought this person must have a low cooling bill with all these trees. It was very shady in the yard and there was not much grass anywhere, only the roots of the trees were showing in part of the yard and sparse patches of moss and lichens. The house was a plank house that looked like it was not painted but it was only the natural color of the wood. It looked like it was well kept in spite of the trees surrounding it. There were also some red and white azaleas blooming in the shady yard. There was a screened porch and that was where Mac saw the dog. It was a black retriever and it was barking wildly at him. "Hi there," Mac said to the dog. He knocked on the door of the porch.

Soon, an old man came from the house. "Settle down there, Chip," he said to the dog. He walked over to the door of the porch and opened it. "Can I help you?"

Mac looked at the dog that was sniffing at him now. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I would like to talk to you about Archie Woods."

"Haven't seen him in a while. I heard he disappeared."

"Yes, sir. He was on his way to one of his rental properties and he never made it. This morning, he was found murdered."

The man looked surprised. "Murdered? Who would want to murder him?"

"Did you know him?"

"I had seen him. He was always friendly and waved when he went by. He even stopped by here once to ask directions. He was a nice young man."

"You saw him the day he disappeared, right?"

"Yes, he passed by here. I saw him as I was going to the mailbox. He waved and blew the horn at me."

"And you didn't hear or see anything else?"

"No. I didn't know he didn't make it where he was going until I heard that he had disappeared."

Mac was puzzled but he did not think he was going to find any information here. "Thank you for your time," he said.

"Hope you find whoever did that."

Mac went on back to the Avalanche. He was sure he was not going to find any clues out here. However, he knew that Mr. Woods had made it this far because this man had seen him. Mac pulled out onto the road and went on toward the neighborhood where Mrs. Robinson lived. He drove slowly so that he could see everything but there was nothing to see but woods and forest which would have eaten up anything that was disturbed before and was not seen. Soon, he came to a small dirt road that led off to the left. It was so narrow, Mac wondered if the Avalanche would go down it. However, he wanted to try it and see where it went. He turned into the road and went two miles before he even saw anything that looked like human habitation. There was a small house out there that was in a hewn out place in the woods that surrounded it. It was a small white house but it did not look very white with the moss growing on it and mold. Mac was not sure he wanted to go out there in that damp place but he wanted to find every lead he could.

Mac stopped at the house and got out of the truck. This house had a concrete porch with concrete steps that went up to it but it was not a very high porch. He walked over to the porch and up the steps. Just as he was about to knock on the door, he heard someone unlocking it. The door opened to reveal a woman. She looked to be middle aged and she had her auburn hair put up in a bun. "Hi," she said in almost a whisper. "May I help you?"

"Ma'am, I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I'm investigating a murder. Have you ever heard of a man named Archie Woods? He was last seen traveling on Willow Road out there the day he disappeared." He showed her a picture of the victim. "He drove a red convertible."

The woman looked at the picture and then at Mac. "I'm Cassandra Ross. I don't see many people here."

"I'm just trying to find some leads into what happened to this man."

"I moved here because I wanted to be left alone and that's what I get."

Mac nodded. "I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"No bother. Like I said, I hardly ever see anyone around here."

Mac went back to the Avalanche. He looked around the place as he thought it would be easy to hide something out here. There was nothing around here for miles except this little dirt road he was on and this house. But he would have to wonder why Mr. Woods would be down here. He did not own this house. Maybe he had owned it at one time. Mac would have to look into that. He noticed Cassandra was peeping out the curtain. He thought it was strange for such a young woman to live out here alone but he could not judge anyone. Sometimes, he wished he was living out in a place like this alone.

Mac pulled out of the small driveway and went back to the main road. He sat there at the stop sign for a moment wondering what he should do next. There was no evidence on Mr. Woods' body that pointed to anyone. There was no sign of the car he was driving and no sign of where he got to on the road. It was getting late now so Mac thought he should just go on back to the lab and study some more and pick this up in the morning. He did want to talk to some more of the people who rented from Mr. Woods though and he also wanted to talk to that maintenance man.

Mac drove on down the road to another house that Mr. Woods had been renting. This house had a two car garage and was made of brick. There was a concrete porch and a lot of flower pots on the porch. Mac walked up to the door and knocked. "I'm in the back yard!" someone called.

Mac scowled and walked around the corner of the house. As he rounded the house, he found an old woman in the back yard at a table with potting soil and several pots and a whole table full of flowers and plants. "Hi," she said with a smile. "Can I help you?"

Mac showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor from the New York Crime lab. You rent this house, right?"

"Yes, I do. I'm Gloria Norris. My husband is Bill. We've been renting for over a year now."

"I'm investigating the murder of Archie Woods."

The woman gasped. "Murder? We heard that he disappeared."

"He was found murdered this morning. Did he ever come to work on your house personally?"

"He did once. Usually, it was David, that maintenance man." Gloria pointed. "He's right over there at Mrs. Jones' house now."

Mac looked across the street to see a pickup with a lot of tools and a toolbox in the back. He looked at Gloria. "Did he seem to like Mr. Woods?" he asked.

"I never saw them together."

Mac thought every time he thought he had an idea, it was crushed. "Did anything unusual happen at any time?" he asked.

"Nothing here. We've always enjoyed renting from Mr. Woods. He's always been kind to us and very respectful."

"Thank you for your time, Ma'am."

The woman held up one of her plants. "Don't you just love petunias?" she asked.

Mac smiled. "Yes, they're beautiful."

Mac went back around the house and went over to the house where the maintenance man was. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. A man opened the door. "May I help you?" he asked a little sternly.

Mac showed him his badge. "I'm Detective Mac Taylor. I was wanting to talk to David, the maintenance man."

"Well, I wish someone would talk to him," the man said. "He does shoddy work and has to come back over and over."

The man let Mac into the house and led him to the kitchen where David was working under the sink. He looked up to see Mac. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Detective Mac Taylor," Mac said, holding up his badge.

"Detective? What are you doing here?"

"I'm investigating a murder."

"Murder?" David did not seem to care a bit about Mac standing there. He kept right on working.

"Yes, the murder of your boss, Archie Woods."

That seemed to get David's attention. He looked at Mac. "Murder?" he asked.

"Yes." Mac thought he always got the same response from everyone when he told them that. "How long had you been working for him?"

"About five months. He couldn't handle all the work himself so I took care of most of it."

"He was found this morning. Did you see him the day he disappeared?"

"I saw him that morning but none the rest of the day. I was busy."

"Did he tell you anything about what he would be doing? Did he ever stop off somewhere to do other business when he had a maintenance call?"

"I wouldn't think so. His people who lived in his houses were the most important thing to him. I would say he was probably one of the nicest people in New York."

Mac scowled. "You have any idea why anyone would want to murder him?"

"No. I was surprised that he disappeared too. He's not the kind of man to do anything like that. I didn't believe it when people said he probably just left town."

"I didn't either," the other man agreed. "This is one thing we agree on. Mr. Woods was a nice man."

"Well, thanks for all your time," Mac said. He went back out to the Avalanche and decided he might as well go back to the lab. No one knew anything. It was getting late and starting to get dark. He had been wandering around out here for hours and had found nothing.

As Mac was heading back to the lab, night was falling. He had the headlights on but it was very dark out there. He was passing by the road that Cassandra Ross lived on. He looked down the road which looked like a dungeon. When he looked back at the road ahead, he saw not only one deer, but a whole group of them. He slammed on the brakes, but he knew he was not going to be able to stop in time. He could not see off the side of the road where he was likely to end up, but he thought he was right at one of those deep drop offs. He hoped he was not about to find out what happened to Archie Woods the hard way as he swerved to try and miss some of those deer. He felt the wheel of the Avalanche as it went over the side of the road. Then he felt the Avalanche going over the side of the road as he hit one of the deer which felt like hitting a tree or a wall almost.

As the Avalanche went over the side of the road, the airbag inflated and slammed Mac back against the seat. He was addled then and could do nothing but watch as he was going down the ravine knocking down small trees as the Avalanche went. One limb was big enough to bust out the windshield and another broke out the side window beside Mac. The Avalanche came to a jarring halt when it crashed into a big tree and Mac made contact with the steering wheel since the airbag had already deflated. He groaned as he felt pain all over his body especially his ribs and legs. He could not seem to move off the steering wheel. He thought he saw something move outside the window but everything was a blur…


	5. Chapter 5

When Mac came to, there was someone standing beside him at the truck. "Don't you worry now," she said. "You're going to be fine. I used to be a nurse."

Mac could not see her because his vision was blurred and it was dark already. He thought he had heard that voice before though. "Help me," he said barely above a whisper.

Mac thought he was still lying over on the steering wheel but he felt so disoriented that he thought he might be lying back on the seat now. He could see that it was dark outside now and he could not see who was there with him but he knew it was a woman. He groaned out loud when she pushed him back from the steering wheel. He knew where his body was now. He thought he could feel every bone in it. He remembered what happened now. He had been in a wreck. He had almost hit a bunch of deer on the road. He had tried to miss them and went off the side of the road.

The woman felt of his arm and Mac let out a yell. He was not sure if it was broken or just badly bruised. The woman put her hand over his mouth. "Don't yell," she said.

"What are you doing to me?" Mac asked.

"I'm going to take care of you."

Mac pushed her hand away but she grabbed his arm making him almost scream but she put her hand over his mouth again. "Don't try that again," she said.

Mac thought he was figuring out what might have happened to Archie Woods. Would that be his fate? Would he be tortured to death? He jerked away from the woman and tried to get to the other side of the truck but she grabbed his suit jacket in the back and jerked him back causing him an all new spasm of pain. He was not ready to give up however. He lunged for the other side of the truck and grabbed the door handle. He pulled the handle and the door opened. However when he tried to get out, he realized he might have a broken leg from the pain that struck him from his right leg. He crawled for the other side of the truck anyway and fell out onto the ground.

Mac lay there for a moment trying to get past the wave of dizziness and nausea that swept over him. He thought he could barely get his breath. He knew he had at least one broken rib and his arm was almost numb now at his hand but where it was hurt, it was definitely not numb. He realized he was wasting time. He crawled away from the truck and grabbed his phone off his side with his good arm but before he could dial anyone, the woman was there. She grabbed the phone and smashed it before Mac could do anything.

While she was distracted with destroying the phone, Mac crawled away from her and tried to get up. However, his right leg would not hold him up. He crawled into the brush but he knew she would be able to find him. He did not know where he was and it was so dark, he could not see anything to figure it out. He did not know if he was going back toward the highway or going further into the woods but he knew he wanted to get away from that woman. He crawled over into a group of bushes and stopped. He could see just a little from the dim light of the stars now. The woman was coming into the woods with something in her hands. Mac thought he would panic. He was wounded and could not defend himself. Then he remembered his weapon, but it was not on his side. It was in the truck. He turned and crawled away from the woman and tried to make a turn to go back toward the truck where he could possibly get his weapon.

Mac thought he had probably found Archie Woods' killer. He crawled until he got back to the clearing where the truck was. He did not see the woman however. He was nervous about that fact. She could be anywhere waiting for him but if he got that weapon, he would put her out of her misery. He looked around for her but did not see or hear anything. That made him even more nervous. He leaned against a tree. He thought his whole body was hurting and he felt sick and dizzy. He looked around him again and then started crawling toward the truck. To his surprise, he made it. He crawled up to the door of the truck and stood on his knees to get the weapon from the truck. Before he could get it, the woman came up behind him and stepped on his right leg right where it was broken. Mac yelled with pain but she grabbed his mouth and jerked him backward. He grabbed the seatbelt and held on to keep her from pulling him away. She stomped his leg to make him let go. Mac did not know if he had ever felt such a pain. He could not keep from throwing up this time. He fell backward and thought he must be going into shock. He was at the woman's mercy now because he was totally drained.

Mac came to again to find himself being hauled in what he thought was a wagon. He thought they were going over rough ground. His arm and leg ached and throbbed and so did his head. His vision was blurred and he could not see anything around him. He was in trouble. He thought no one would ever find him out here like this. He wanted to know who this woman was and why she was doing this to him.

When Mac woke up again, he was shivering with cold and he was in a dark, damp place…or that was how it felt. He thought he was lying on a bed though and he thought he was wearing an oxygen mask. Suddenly, a light broke the darkness. Mac closed his eyes as the light almost hurt. Then he realized someone was standing over him. He tried to open his eyes, but they were sensitive to the light. "Don't worry…" it was the woman again. "I'm going to get some heat down here for you. I had to get it prepared for you since it hasn't been long since my last one died."

Mac thought she must be referring to Archie Woods but he could not think somehow. He almost sat straight up as the woman started to do something to his left arm. "Calm down," she said. "I have to set this bone."

"NO!" Mac yelled in agony but he could do nothing to stop her as she jerked that arm.

Mac did not know what happened next. He dreamed that he was in the war and that he was wounded and trying to wade through mud. He felt like someone was trying to push him down and he could barely get his breath because of pain…

Danny was in the lab working on his new case. Lindsey had already gone home but Sheldon was there helping. They had already been wondering where Mac was. "Don't you think he would come back to the lab before he went home?" Sheldon asked.

"Yes, but he didn't answer his phone," Danny replied.

"He always answers."

Danny blew out a breath. He was worried too. "All I know is that he was going to visit Rhonda Jernigan and I don't know where he might have gone after that. Maybe he's driving and can't answer right now."

Just then, Don Flack came from the elevator. He noticed Mac was not in his office so he went into the lab. "Hey, where's Mac?" he asked.

"That's just what we were wondering," Danny replied. "When did you hear from him last?"

"Around lunch time. He said he was going out to visit Rhonda Jernigan. I think he was going to her workplace first and then to her home if she wasn't there."

"He's been gone for a few hours though."

"Maybe he went to check out some more of those suspects."

"He's not answering, Don."

"I'll check the GPS on his truck and see if I can find it."

"Great. We'll get Adam to track his phone too. If he shows up, I'd just as soon he didn't know we did all that."

"He won't hear it from me."

Don left the lab and went back down to the precinct. Danny went into the computer lab and told Adam to triangulate Mac's phone and find out where it was. Adam got into the program but of course, he could not find Mac's phone. "It's not showing up in the city," he said. "Maybe it's turned off. I'll see if it can be activated."

"Let me know."

Danny went back into the lab more worried than he was before. They had not figured out what was going on with that murder yet and now Mac had disappeared after he had gone out to that area where the victim disappeared. "You're worried," Sheldon remarked. "You're more worried than you want to let on."

Danny folded his arms. "Well, that guy disappeared about two weeks ago and now he shows up tortured to death and we don't know who the murderer was or how the guy wound up in this person's clutches. Yeah, I'm worried."

"So what do we do?"

"We wait to see if they can find his phone or his truck. Adam couldn't find the phone in the city. He's trying to see if it can be turned on."

Sheldon leaned on the lab table. "You think he's in trouble?"

"I don't know. He's been gone quite a while without any communication."

Adam came into the lab. "I can't find his phone and the company can't turn it on either. It either has the battery out or it's dead."

Danny wished Adam had not used the word 'dead'. "Well, I guess we start with Rhonda Jernigan," Danny said. He got his phone and called Don.

"Flack," Don answered.

"You have any luck finding that GPS?" Danny asked.

"No. We can't pick up the signal anywhere."

"We need to find Rhonda Jernigan and see if she knows anything about where Mac is."

"I'm on it."

"Keep me posted."

Don put his phone away and headed to Rhonda Jernigan's apartment. He was sure she could not keep someone captive in an apartment like she lived in. It was an upscale apartment in Manhattan. As a matter of fact, it was in the same building that Mac lived in…only not on the same floor. Don arrived at the building and went up to the right floor. He found Rhonda's apartment and knocked on the door.

It was not long until Rhonda opened the door. She put her hand on her hip and stared at Don. "Can I help you?" she asked.

Don showed her his badge. "I'm Detective Don Flack," he said. "Did you see Detective Taylor today?"

"Yes I did. He came to my office today."

"Do you know what time he left?"

"I would say he left around two. Why?"

Don wrote that down. "I'm just trying to figure out where he is. He hasn't checked in."

Rhonda frowned. "Well, I certainly hope nothing has happened to him."

Don looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I was hoping I could explore his territory."

Don almost lost his composure with that statement. "Well, I guess you'll have to talk to him about that. You guys live in the same building after all."

Rhonda folded her arms. "Really? Which apartment is his?"

Don put up his hands. "I've already said too much. He would kill me if he knew I said that. Good luck. Did Mac say anything to you about where he was going when he left?"

"No."

"Thanks."

Don walked away from the apartment almost laughing. He had never heard that before about Mac. He figured Mac would not think it was funny. He always seemed to be shy about such things. Don did not think it was anything to be so shy about. Everyone did it. He never understood why Mac wanted everyone to think he had no feelings. Right now, though, he wanted to know where Mac was. He just hoped he was not in any kind of trouble but it was not like Mac to be gone this long without calling.

Don called Danny and told him that Mac had left Rhonda's office at around 2. "So where did he go after that?" Don asked.

"I'm not sure," Danny said. "All I know is that he was investigating that murder. He may have gone to interview some of the people who rented from Mr. Woods."

"You got a list of those people?"

"Yeah. I'll get it. We're going to see if he went to any of their homes."

"Hurry. It's getting late out there."

Danny got the list of renters and owners and went down to where Don was waiting. "What could have happened to him?" Don asked.

"I hope nothing," Danny replied.

"Something must have happened since we can't track his phone or the GPS in the Avalanche."

Danny had to admit it looked bad but he wanted to try and be a little optimistic. They finally got on the road that went out to the neighborhood where Mrs. Robinson lived. "Wow, this road is dark," Danny remarked.

"Maybe he got lost out here," Don said.

"Get outa here. Mac doesn't get lost."

"I think anybody could get lost out here."

Suddenly, Don saw some deer in the road ahead. "Whoa!" he exclaimed and slammed on his brakes.

Don barely got stopped in time. He blew the horn loud and long. "Get outa the road!" he yelled.

The deer were already running. Don blew out a nervous breath. "I hate that," he declared.

"I'll get back to you on that," Danny said. "I'm still trying to get my stomach to remember that we're stopped."

"Hey, maybe something like that happened to Mac and he couldn't stop."

Danny looked off the highway. "You think he fell down in one of these ravines?" he asked.

"Anything's possible, I guess."

Don went on to the neighborhood. "So where do we go first?" he asked.

"I don't think he would have gone to Mrs. Robinson's house again," Danny said. "Let's try the Norris' house."

Don pulled into the driveway as Danny found the right address. They walked up to the door noticing all the flower pots on the porch and the smell of fresh soil. "My mother used to raise plants all over the house," Don remarked. "And my grandmother had a yard full."

"Mine too," Danny said.

Danny rang the doorbell and an old man answered the door. "Hi," Danny said and showed the man his badge. "We were wondering if Detective Mac Taylor came by here today."

"I think so. My wife mentioned a detective coming by today asking about Mr. Woods."

An old woman came over to the door. "Yes, the detective came by today," she said.

"You remember what time he left?"

"I'm not sure. I was out in the back yard planting. He went over to talk to David after that. He was working on Mr. Jones' house."

"Okay, thanks," Danny said.

Don and Danny went over to the other house and asked about Mac. "I would say he left around five or so," the man said.

Don looked at his watch. "That was over two hours ago," Don said. "He should have been back by now."

Danny looked at the man. "Thanks for your time," he said.

Don and Danny went back to Don's car. "Well, now we know something is wrong," Don said.

"Let's see if he went to see any of these other people," Danny replied.

They visited the other people on that street but none of them had seen Mac. They had seen the Avalanche on the street but Mac had not visited them. "So something happened to him after he left the Jones house back there," Don said.

"Yeah but what?" Danny asked.

"Are there ever any easy answers?"

"None that I've ever found."

"It's so dark out there on that road, we won't be able to see anything before morning," Danny said.

"He could be out there," Don said.

"He has to be out here somewhere."


	6. Chapter 6

Mac woke up feeling warm. He thought he smelled wood smoke and he thought he could hear the crackle of a fire too but more than that, he had deep aching pain especially in his arm, leg and head. He could not remember where he was and how he got here. He thought he could not remember much of anything at the moment. His back was hurting almost as bad as his arm and leg. He opened his eyes slightly and looked around him as much as he could and was startled to see a woman sitting beside his bed.

"So, you're finally awake," the woman said.

Mac thought she looked familiar but he could not remember who she was. "Where am I?" he asked.

The woman stared at him a moment, knowing the extent of his injuries. "Don't you remember where you are?" she asked.

"No."

"Do you remember your name?"

Mac considered that a moment. "No." He was alarmed. "Why can't I remember?"

"You have a head injury. You just have a little amnesia."

Mac looked at her. "Who are you? Why should I believe you?"

The woman thought her plan would work even better this way…and her plan was to have a man around. "Why, you're my husband," she said.

Mac stared at her a moment. He could not remember any different and who was he to argue. "What happened to me?"

"You were in an accident. Those crazy deer were in the road again. You were distracted and almost ran into them and ran off the highway."

Mac wondered why he could not remember any of that. "What's my name?"

"Your name is Mac."

"And yours?" Mac frowned. "I'm sorry I don't remember."

"My name is Cassandra."

Mac thought that name sounded familiar so he thought she must be telling him the truth. He felt incredibly sleepy. "I'm tired," he said.

"You should rest. When you wake up again, I'll have something to eat."

Mac stared at the woman. She was younger than him…he knew that. He felt like he was seeing her for the first time and somehow he wondered if he was being told the whole truth. Why was he in a basement? His head ached and he felt almost sick but he was warm…

Danny and Don had worked all night to get a team together to go out and search for Mac. They knew something was wrong now because dawn was breaking and Mac had not called and he was not at his apartment. "We have to find him," Don declared. "I don't want him to show up like that other guy did."

"Don't say that," Danny said. "I don't want to think of that."

"You know the same thing that happened to that other guy could have happened to Mac."

"But he could have been in a wreck."

"Right."

When they were ready, they went out to the neighborhood where Mac was last seen because they would start from there. "He was at the Jones' house last," Danny said. "That means, he probably headed back to the lab after he left there so something happened between that house and the lab."

"And it could have happened on this dark road out here," Don declared. "If I had been distracted last night, we might be lying down in a ravine too."

Danny nodded. "You're right. Let's get out there."

Don and Danny headed back down the road and came to the place where there were skid marks on the road. They got out as the rest of the team blocked the road and directed traffic. "See that?" Danny asked as he took pictures of the skid marks. "These are pretty long. Somebody was obviously trying to avoid something."

"They swerve toward the side of the road too," Don pointed out. He walked over to the edge of the road. "He could have gone off here."

"Check to see if there are any reports of a wreck here."

"I'm on it." Don went back to his car and got on the radio.

Danny looked at the side of the road. He squatted and took pictures as he took a closer look. Something had definitely gone off here but he could not say what. He called Sheldon on his cell phone. "Sheldon, I'm sending you a picture of the skid marks I found on this road out here. I want to know if they match the Avalanche."

"Okay," Sheldon replied.

Danny sent the picture. "I got it," Sheldon said. "I'll get back to you."

Danny looked down into the ravine which was pretty deep. He thought it looked like something had gone down through there in the trees but there was so much brush and everything, one could not really tell from where he was standing. He thought something could go through all that and be lost forever if no one knew it was there or no one was missed. Don came back over to Danny. "No reports of any wrecks out here," he said.

Danny pointed down the hill. "It looks like something went off the road here," he said.

"Are we going down there?"

"Somebody has to."

They got some ropes from the equipment truck and two harnesses and got ready to go down the hill. "You ever repelled before?" Don asked.

"Yeah, plenty of times," Danny replied. "Why? You nervous?"

"Well, I just don't want to get down to the bottom of this hill and find some wild animal and not make it back out."

"Worry wart."

"Hey, I want to stay in one piece."

Danny got ready to go down. He looked at Don. "I'll see you down there," he said. "And don't make me come back up here after you, you scaredy cat."

"Hey!" Don said as Danny started down. "Don't mention cats!"

Danny repelled down to the bottom of the hill and soon Don was down there. "I hate the woods," Don said. "That's why I live in the city. I don't like the woods."

"You prefer the cement jungle," Danny remarked.

"Yeah."

"Relax, will ya? You never been in the woods?"

"Yeah and I almost stepped on a snake. My mom told me never to go into the woods again. That was one time I thought she had a good point."

Danny groaned at that. "You're worse than Lucy when we take her somewhere new."

Don followed Danny. "Not only that," he continued. "But there are mosquitoes." He slapped his neck as he felt something biting him.

They walked over to a tree. "Doesn't this tree look strange to you?" Danny asked.

Don looked at it as he swatted at more mosquitoes. "Looks like part of the bark is knocked off," he said.

Danny touched the tree and realized it had paint on it. He looked at Don. "Looks like someone is trying to cover up the fact that this tree was wounded."

Don looked around them. "But if the Avalanche came down through here, where is it now?"

"Good question." Danny took pictures of the tree and of the area around them. "There must be something here."

They squatted and stared at the ground. "Yeah, look at this," Danny said as he took pictures of the ground in front of the tree and further back from it. "There was definitely a vehicle here."

Don had a feeling of dread. "If Mac went off that road and wound up here, where is he now?" he wondered out loud.

They both stood and looked around them searching for some clue. "Everything alright down there?" someone asked through Don's radio.

Don took the radio off his side. "Yeah, everything's good," he said. "No truck down here though but it looks like something came down here. We're going to search around a bit. You guys stay on alert."

"Will do."

Don and Danny walked around some more paying close attention to the ground around the apparent wreck site. "Look at this," Don said.

Danny came over to Don and looked at the ground. "Wheel tracks?" Danny asked.

They looked in the direction the tracks went and it went all the way through the grass out there where there was an open field. "You're kidding me," Don said. "Somebody came down here and carried Mac out of here and did away with the Avalanche? That's a big truck."

"Can this case get any stranger?" Danny asked. "That other guy disappeared without a trace. Maybe this was how it happened. By the time they figured out he was missing all the evidence was gone."

"But how would someone know there would be a wreck out here?"

"It's probably not that they knew…they just took advantage of the situation."

"Okay…answer this: why?"

Danny considered that as he looked at the tracks through the grass. "I don't know the answer to that one."

"What are we looking at here?"

"Something weird."

They followed the tracks through the grass and finally came out on a narrow dirt road. "Which way now?" Don asked as he was scratching his head and torso.

Danny looked at him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm itching like crazy. I hate the woods and the grass and the country."

Danny shook his head and looked at the road they were at. "So which way?" he wondered.

"Well, that way leads back to the road so I would imagine that it's this way," Don said pointing to their left.

"I guess we have to start somewhere."

Don got his radio and informed their team of where they were going. He and Danny were both hoping that they would find Mac okay down here somewhere but they did not have much hope of it since the Avalanche was gone…


	7. Chapter 7

Don and Danny examined the road they had just found but if there were any tracks there, they had been blown around by the wind and were no longer visible. "This is unreal," Danny said as he and Don began walking down the dirt road.

"These mosquitoes are unreal," Don replied as he swatted at the air.

"Would you knock it off? I'm talking about this case."

"Yeah, well, I'm going to have bites all over me."

"They won't kill you."

"Oh yeah? You ever heard of West Nile Virus?"

Danny rolled his eyes as he was looking down at the road. "Some people don't need to be outside," he said.

Just then, Don sneezed. "See? Now my allergies have to start up again too."

"You're a walking whine bottle? You need any crackers?"

"That's funny."

"I thought it was too."

As they walked on, the sun was coming up further and they could see more around them. "Wow, this is a pretty place," Danny remarked as he looked around at the green trees and the open field.

Don sneezed again. "Maybe if I had a mask on," he said.

"Next time I have to do something like this, I want to bring Lindsey with me."

"I'll be glad to stay at the precinct."

They walked on for about two miles and found a small white house…or it looked like it had been white before. It had a lot of moss and mold growing on it and it was nestled in the middle of a clearing in the woods. Don and Danny stared at it a moment. "Who lives out here?" Don asked.

"We're about to find out?" Danny replied.

They walked up to the door and Danny knocked. "Wow, this place looks run down," Don remarked.

The door opened and there was a woman there. "May I help you?" she asked.

Danny and Don showed her their badges. "I'm Detective Messer, this is Detective Flack. We're from the New York Crime lab. We were wondering if you had seen a detective out here yesterday?"

"Yes, a detective came by here yesterday," the woman said. "His name was Detective Taylor."

"Do you remember what time he came by?"

"Probably after three."

"Have you seen anything unusual around here last night?"

"No."

Danny stared at the woman a moment. "Did you hear anything out there at the road?" he asked. "We believe someone had a wreck out there."

"I didn't hear anything."

"It's so quiet out here. I'll bet you hear everything that goes on, right?"

"Most of the time."

Danny was starting to wonder about this woman even more. "It looks like someone ran off the road out there," he said. "And they crashed into a tree down there. The tree was painted with brown paint to make it look like it was okay and whatever hit it is not there now."

"What does that have to do with me?" the woman asked.

"He just wants to know if you heard anything unusual last night," Don said losing his patience. "There must have been a lot of noise with all that going on."

"Like I said, I didn't hear anything."

"Does anyone else live down this road?" Danny asked.

"A guy lives a few miles down that way," the woman said, pointing down the road further.

Don and Danny looked down the road but they did not see anything. "How far?"

"A few miles. I don't know how far exactly."

"Have you seen anyone around here besides the detective yesterday? Did you ever know a guy named Archie Woods?"

"I met that guy once. He wanted me to rent one of his houses. He thought I needed a better house and he offered to buy this property. He was a nice man."

Danny noticed that 'was'. "So you know he was murdered?" he asked.

"Well, I do watch TV," the woman said. "Is there anything else? I have things to do."

"Nothing right now," Danny said.

Don and Danny walked off the porch. "Do you feel as eerie here as I do?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Don replied. "Maybe we should go and visit this guy down the road."

"That's what I was thinking."

"Are we walking or riding?"

"Well, we might find some clues if we walk but I would just as soon ride."

"Me too."

Don called for the others to bring his car. The car was soon there and he and Danny continued down the road…not missing that the woman in the house was peeping out the curtain at them. "Did you get the impression that she's not all there?" Don asked.

"Yes I did," Danny replied. "But we have to have more to go on than our feelings before we can get a search warrant."

"Hey, the search warrant says we can search anything that might lead to the solving of this crime and finding Mac."

"I don't think that includes a person's private home. We certainly don't want anyone to get off on a technicality."

Don looked down the road they were on. "How far do you think this road goes?" he asked.

"I don't know," Danny replied. He looked at Don. "What happened to the Avalanche?"

Don glanced at Danny. "I don't know."

"They never found Archie Woods' car either."

"I've never heard of anything like this before. Where do you hide a vehicle without a trace?"

Danny shook his head. "Beats me."

"Looks like that Avalanche would draw attention. After all, it's a nice looking truck."

They were quiet for a while as they went on down the road, both wondering what they were going to find and wondering where that Avalanche was and where Mac was. They were sure the truck was not driven out of there. From the looks of that tree where it was painted over, the lick was pretty hard so the truck had to have a lot of damage…and on top of that, it had rolled all the way down that hill so it had to sustain some damage.

Soon, Don and Danny came to another house on the road. It looked to be more cared for than the last one they saw. It had a fence and looked like it had some farm animals. "A farm," Don said.

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "I thought I heard some chickens clucking out there at that other house but they must have been hidden somewhere."

"You never know how far that place goes out in there."

Don pulled into the driveway and suddenly, two dogs came running out barking at them. "Dogs," he said.

"Blow the horn," Danny said.

Don blew the horn and soon a man came from the house. He got the dogs under control and Don and Danny got out of the car. "Howdy," the man said.

The two dogs were sniffing curiously at Don and Danny. "Morning," Danny said. He showed the man his badge. "I'm Detective Messer, this is Detective Flack. We're from the New York Crime lab."

"My name is John," the man said. "What brings you out here?"

"We're investigating a murder." Danny showed him a picture of Archie Woods. "You ever seen that guy?"

John looked at the picture. "No. Can't say I have."

"What about this guy?" Danny asked and showed him a picture of Mac.

"Nope."

"Have you heard anything strange around here or seen anything strange?"

"I thought I heard some noise last night but I don't know what it was," John replied. "You know, it's so dark out here at night, you can't see much."

"Yeah, we noticed," Don said. "What about your neighbor up there?"

John frowned. "What about her?" he asked.

"Does she ever cause you any trouble?"

"Trouble? Are you kidding? I don't think trouble is the word. I have caught that woman on my property more than once and she gives me the creeps."

"How so?"

"The way she looks at you…like she wants to attack you or something. She seems like she's wild."

"Wild?" Danny asked. "What's her name?"

"Cassandra Ross. If anything happened around here, I'm sure she knows about it and she might have something to do with it. You know, she's got about six acres back there in those woods. I'm not a trespasser myself so I have not gone over there to see what she's got back there and I don't want anywhere near that woman but there's something strange about her."

Danny looked at Don. They had gotten the same feeling when they were talking to her. "You think she would hold a man captive?" Danny asked just out of curiosity.

John considered that. "I don't know. She's only forty-three years old. Why does she live out here in that old house?"

"Maybe she likes being alone."

John put his hands in his pockets. "I like being alone…I think she has something to hide."

Don and Danny stared at him a moment. "How do we know you're not hiding anything?" Don asked.

"Go ahead and search. I'm telling you, that woman up there is evil. You best be careful if you go around there."

"Thanks."

"I've had several animals go missing, including a cow. I know she took 'em but there's no way to prove it and I don't want to be around that woman."

"Thanks for your time," Danny said.

Don and Danny went back to the car. "What do you think?" Don asked.

"I think he's right," Danny replied. "That woman gave me the creeps too."

"So what do we do?"

"Well, we don't have enough to go on to go traipsing around her property."

"Why not? That guy says he's lost several animals."

Danny considered that. "But that doesn't have anything to do with this case. He hasn't seen anything out there that might pertain to a hidden vehicle."

Don rubbed his head. "I don't want to leave Mac out here," he said. "I just have a feeling that he's here somewhere."

"So do I but we have to have some sort of evidence."

As they neared the property of Cassandra Ross, they slowed down and looked out that way trying to get any glimpse they could of something that might look like a vehicle but they saw nothing. "Hey, I have an idea," Don said as they passed on by the property.

"What?" Danny asked.

"Mr. John back there could give us permission to be on his property out there and we could go all the way to the edge of it and see if we could see something on her property. That would be plain view."

Danny considered that. "Yeah," he agreed. "Let's do that."

Don turned around and went back to John's house. John was still outside. "How far does your property go?" Danny asked. "Does it go all the way to the edge of Miss Ross down there?"

"Our properties meet, yes. Why?"

"We were wondering if you would give us permission to explore your property," Don said.

John looked at them a moment, seeming to get the point. "Sure," he said. "Why don't I go with you? I would like to show you around."

"That's really nice of you," Don said.

Don and Danny followed John out into the woods not knowing what they would find. "I have about ten acres out here," John said. "I had some of this cleared at one time but I can't handle it all anymore so I just planted some trees and let them take a lot of it."

"How long have you been living here?" Danny asked.

"About thirty years," John answered. "My wife died about five years ago so now I'm alone. We didn't always live here but when we got this place, we loved it. We liked it out in the country."

"And how long has Miss Ross been living there?"

"She's been there about six years. She moved in there after her parents died."

They soon came to a fence in the woods. "This is where my property ends," John said. He pointed. "That's Miss Ross's property. I had this fence put up after she moved in there and when I found out what kind of person she is."

Don and Danny stared into the woods but they could not see anything but woods and brush. "You say she has a clearing back there?" Danny asked.

"Well, she has some animals cause I hear them sometimes," John said. "She must have something back there that is unseen to the road and everyone else."

"Where's the back of her property?"

"I'll show you."

Don and Danny followed John around the fence and then around the back of the fence that surrounded Miss Ross's property. "That's her property right there," John said.

Danny was disappointed that they could not see anything but thick woods. He knew they were going to have to get some sort of proof. He took binoculars out and looked toward the property but he could not see anything through the trees although he thought he saw a gleam of sunlight on something. "Can't make out anything," Danny said.

Don sighed. "What do we do?" he asked.

"I don't know." Danny looked at John. "Thanks for your help."

They walked back to John's house and Don and Danny got into the car and headed out. "Are we just giving up?" Don asked.

"No," Danny replied. "We have to figure out a way to get a warrant for that house."

"But how?"

"Well, we can use the fact that her neighbor is suspicious of her stealing from him and that she's a recluse, she lives close to the wreck site and she has plenty of room out there to hide something."

"You think that will be good enough?"

"I don't know but it's worth a try. We can at least get a warrant to search the property and if we find that Avalanche out there, we'll have plenty of cause to search the house."

"You better find a good judge."

Danny stared at the house as they passed by Miss Ross' property. He wanted to know whether Mac was out there or not. He could not imagine where he had disappeared to and they did have the evidence of the wagon tracks leading from the wreck site. "We're going to try with all the evidence we have," Danny declared. "Maybe it will be enough."

"I hope so," Don replied.


	8. Chapter 8

Mac woke up when Cassandra came back into the room. For a moment, he was confused and afraid but then he remembered what she had told him. He was lying on his stomach on the bed and felt as though he could not move or that he did not want to move. He still felt that deep aching pain in his arm and leg and his head felt no better. Cassandra came over to him with a plate of food. "You have to eat," she said. "Turn over."

Mac did not think he could turn over. "I can't," he said.

"Yes you can. You just have to grit your teeth and do it."

Mac thought that sounded a little harsh. He started to move but then pain shot through him. He groaned slightly. "I can't," he said.

"I'll help you then." Cassandra set the plate down.

"No," Mac said as she came over to him. "I'm not hungry."

"Don't act like a baby."

"Please."

"No begging either."

Mac stared at her. "You've been lying to me," he said. "I don't belong here, do I?"

"You do now."

Mac yelled with pain as she grabbed his sore arm and pulled at him to make him turn over. "Okay!" he yelled. "I'll do it myself."

"Then get busy," Cassandra replied.

Mac swallowed hard as he tried to get some of the pain to subside. He finally got turned over onto his back after a few minutes of agony. His back hurt too and he did not think he could eat. "I'm not hungry," he said.

"You're going to eat anyway," Cassandra declared. "I spent time fixing this meal for you and you're going to eat."

Mac stared at her a moment. "Why are you doing this? Who are you?"

"Your worst nightmare if you don't do what I say."

"Why did you tell me that I was your husband?"

"Well, I had a thought of what it could be like but I realize that will never work. There are too many people looking for you so I may have to take drastic measures."

Mac frowned wondering what she meant by that. "Can't you even tell me who I am and what happened to me?"

"Why would I want to do that? I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later. By then it will probably be too late though."

Cassandra picked up the plate. "Now eat," she demanded.

Mac looked at the plate. He wondered if he could hold any food down right now even if he got it down. He knew he could do nothing with his left arm so he took the plate with his right hand which was very shaky and he dropped the plate. He looked at Cassandra who looked furious. "You idiot!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry," Mac said.

"You're going to clean that up!"

Mac watched as Cassandra went up the basement stairs. He wondered if he could get out of this basement. He saw another set of stairs that he thought probably went outside. He was not sure if he could get out even if he got off this bed. He knew he wanted to get out of here though. He wanted to remember what happened and maybe he would be able to remember who he was. How did he get here? Mac closed his eyes and tried to remember but he could not remember anything.

Suddenly, Cassandra came back down the stairs with a bucket and a mop. She set it down in front of the bed. "Now, clean it up," she said and folded her arms.

Mac just stared at her a moment wondering how she thought he could do that with a broken arm and a broken leg but he could tell by the look on her face that she was not going to take no for an answer. He looked at the bucket and then forced himself to sit up. He almost fell forward with dizziness which caused him to feel sick. He managed to steady himself on the side of the bed and tried to get through the pain that was bombarding him now.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Cassandra asked. "I don't have all day. That better be cleaned up by the time I get back down here."

Mac stared at her retreating form. He wondered how this woman got in this shape and he wondered what she intended to do to him. He looked down at the mop bucket which had a cloth in it and suddenly, he had a thundering headache and he felt like he was dreaming for a moment but then he could not remember what he had seen. He hoped that was his memory trying to come back. It would come back slowly in flashes at first. Mac scowled. How would he know that? He looked down at himself but he was dressed in a pair of pajamas and he did not think anything else. His right foot looked swollen and so did his leg as well as his left arm. That was the one that was broken. He was glad it was not his right…somehow he knew he was right handed.

Mac looked at the mop and bucket again and then at the stairs where Cassandra had gone up. He wondered what she would do to him if he did not clean it up. He was not sure he could but he was going to make the effort until someone could find him here. He scowled again. How did he know someone would be coming to look for him? She had said there were a lot of people looking for him.

Mac got down in the floor although it was agony with his obviously broken leg and his back was hurting. He got the rag from the bucket and wiped up the mess and then cleaned it up good with the rag. He did not even bother using the mop. He got back onto the bed and lay back down. He did not know anything else after that until Cassandra was waking him up. "Wake up!" she said. "You men always think you don't have anything to do but sleep!"

Mac opened his eyes. For a moment he did not know where he was but then he remembered who Cassandra was. He almost sat straight up but he could not. He remembered everything now. "You!" he said. "You are the one who killed Archie Woods!"

Cassandra stared at him a moment. "Yes, I did," she said. "All he wanted to do was escape. He didn't appreciate anything I did for him just like my 'late' husband."

Mac heard that inflection she put on 'late'. "You killed him too?" he asked.

"Of course. He was a pig but I made a good show of looking like a victim and self defense."

Mac frowned. "You won't this time," he said.

Cassandra leaned closer to him but Mac backed away as much as he could which was not very far since the bed was against the wall. "You won't tell anyone anything because you won't be here by the time they get that warrant," she said.

Mac swallowed and stared into Cassandra's eyes. He could see her insanity. "Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"Somewhere that they won't find you." Cassandra brought a wheelchair over to Mac's bed. "Get in it."

Mac looked at the chair. "Don't even think that I am going to help you," Cassandra said. "You're not a baby."

Mac glared at her. "I didn't ask you to bring me here," he said angrily. "Why don't you let me go and I'll find my way out of here?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Why would you want to keep me like this?"

"Cause I hate men and I intend to make the rest of your life miserable."

Mac frowned. "I have not done anything to you."

"You are a man. That is enough."

"Taking your anger out on me won't change the past with your husband."

"Are you going to get in that chair or am I going to make you wish you had?"

Mac's frown deepened. "I can't get up!" he said. "I have a broken leg!"

"You want two?"

Mac glared at her. Cassandra went over to the other side of the basement and picked up a sledge hammer. Mac gasped. "Now do you want to get up?" she asked.

Mac looked at the chair and started to move. He did not know how he would get into the chair with a broken leg and a broken arm but he was going to try. He got off the bed onto his knees. "Just where a man belongs," Cassandra mocked.

Mac glared at her and got over to the chair. He made sure the wheels were locked and tried to pull himself up into the chair. He slipped and almost busted his nose on the chair and pain shot through his leg and arm. He groaned at the pain and looked at Cassandra. She was just standing there with her arms folded. Mac knew she was not going to help him and he remembered what had happened to Archie Woods. He tried again to get into the chair and this time he made it, not without a lot of pain. If only his leg was not broken, he could try to get away…no, he could not try. He would have to be sure when he decided because if she caught him again, she would show no mercy.

To Mac's surprise, Cassandra pushed him over to what looked like a blank wall. However, Cassandra pulled a hidden lever and Mac heard a click and part of the wall moved and slid aside to reveal a passageway. Mac was nervous as Cassandra pushed him into the tunnel. She had a lantern with her since it was very dark in the tunnel. She pushed him all the way down the tunnel and to the right which led down another long tunnel. This time, they came to another door which led into another house. Mac looked around them as they entered the house. It looked like a big house with antique furniture in it. Cassandra pushed him to a bedroom which was decorated in black. She opened the curtains which revealed windows that were shielded by tree limbs and bushes.

Mac stared out the windows. He figured no one even knew this house was here. Cassandra pulled the covers back on the bed. "Get in there," she said.

Mac almost sighed but he made his way into the bed. "Where are my clothes?" he asked.

"You don't need them."

"How long do you think you can keep me here?"

"As long as I want to."

Mac looked at his arm. "I need medical care," he said. "You can't just keep me here like this. I have a broken arm and leg."

"I know that."

"They need to be tended to!"

"You're such a whiner. You're almost as bad as that last one I had."

"What did you do to him?"

"I wanted to take care of him but he did not want anything to do with me so I just made his suffering worse until he died."

"You're out of your mind!"

Cassandra glared at him and walked over to the bed. "Don't say that to me again!" She slapped him.

Mac glared at her and tried to get off the bed on the other side but she grabbed his shirt from behind and pulled him backward. Then she started to choke him. Mac tried to push her away with his good arm but she grabbed his broken arm with her other hand. Mac would have screamed if he could have gotten enough breath. He felt himself starting to pass out as she stopped choking him. He finally got a breath in.

Mac was in a panic now. He lunged for the other side of the bed and got off this time even though it only resulted in a torrent of pain. Cassandra came around the bed as Mac was trying to crawl away but she stomped his broken leg. Mac yelled with pain and then he whirled around and knocked her down. Cassandra looked surprised at that action as she looked at Mac but then her surprise turned to anger. She screamed as she came at him but Mac got his good leg up and shoved her backward. That only resulted in making her more furious. She grabbed one of the tools from the fireplace there in the room and turned toward Mac.

Mac stared at her in horror. He knew she would really hurt him with that and he was in no position to defend himself. "Stop!" he yelled. "You don't have to do this!"

"Don't try to use psychology on me!" Cassandra screamed.

Mac thought someone needed to. He could do nothing as she swung the fireplace tool at him…


	9. Chapter 9

When Mac woke up, it was to deep, excruciating pain. He remembered Cassandra's onslaught he had endured. She had attacked him with one of the fireplace tools and he could do nothing to stop her fit of rage that she took out on him. Right now, he could not move but he remembered her methodically breaking his other leg. He remembered screaming and throwing up but he did not remember anything after that. He wondered what all was broken. He was afraid to move because he was sure he had some more broken bones. He felt like his breath was having trouble reaching his lungs. He had to figure out how to get out of this situation. This woman was crazy and he had no doubt that she would kill him if she kept him here long enough.

Mac moved his eyes, which that even hurt, and looked around the room as much as he could without moving anything else. He looked at the fireplace tools. The poker was one of the first ones he saw. He would get that when he could and he would have a surprise waiting for Cassandra. He was wondering if he could move at all at the moment. He knew if he did, it was going to be painful and he was sure he could not get to that fireplace right now. He wondered why he was still alive after that onslaught of her rage and he wondered what could have happened to her to make her want to do something like this.

Danny and Don were at the lab. "Why can't we get the warrant?" Don asked.

"Not enough evidence to link her to anything," Danny replied.

"But she lives right there."

"Doesn't matter. We didn't even see anything…not even the Avalanche. I mean, where could you hide that?"

"We have to go down there again. That woman has to have something to do with this. We should go down there and stay in those woods all night and see what we can see then."

"In the woods? I thought you hated the woods. I'm not going down there and listen to you complain all night about bugs and snakes and whatever else might be out there."

"We'll stay in the car then."

Danny leaned on the lab table. "We didn't even have any proof that the wheel tracks from the wagon or whatever went to her house. For all we know, Farmer John out there could be hiding something and helping her."

"Nah. He didn't seem like the kind to me," Don said.

"Me neither." Danny put his hands on his hips and looked at Don. "We're going to have to go out there again and do a more thorough search."

"Are we taking the others to help?"

"Yes. Let's get Lindsey, Sheldon and Adam to go with us and we'll all look."

"Right."

When they had everybody together, they went out to the wreck site. Lindsey stared at the tree that had been painted. She looked at Danny. "This should be enough to get a warrant," she said.

"But we don't have any indication of who did it," Danny replied. "We have to find something that looks like it came from a woman."

Lindsey looked down at the ground. "I guess we are going to need a magnifying glass." She opened the forensics kit as she squatted down and took out a magnifying glass.

Sheldon was searching the ground where the truck had apparently gone down the hill. "Where would she hide something this big?" he asked as he looked around them.

"She has six acres out there according to Mr. John over there," Danny said. "That's plenty of room to hide something big."

Don was fanning with a law booklet. "Man, it's hot out here," he complained but he was searching the ground too.

"Are you going to start that again?" Danny asked.

"You call this hot?" Adam asked. "It gets so hot in Arizona that people say you can fry an egg outside…although, that's not really true. I mean, you have to have the heat constant and you can't have the wind blowing by and…"

"It might work if you had a frying pan and set it on the hot pavement," Lindsey suggested.

Adam considered that. "I never thought of that…then again, I never tried that."

"But you guys don't have a lot of humidity out there in Arizona."

"No, it's kinda dry."

"It has gotten so hot in Montana that things that were in the attic melted," Lindsey said. "It's far north but it still gets hot there sometimes. We bought some of those plastic candy canes that light up in the yard for Christmas and they melted."

"Wow," Danny said. "I never thought of Montana as being hot." He grinned a sly grin at Lindsey. "That is, till I met you."

Lindsey smiled. "Shut up," she said.

Danny snickered. "Don't worry, Montana, they know we're in love."

They all searched in silence for a few minutes, each one wondering what could be happening to Mac. They knew what had happened to Archie Woods. "How could someone be this careful?" Sheldon asked. "How could they wipe out all traces of everything?"

"Maybe they know something about investigations," Danny said. He thought a moment. "Was there anything in Cassandra Ross's past that was interesting?"

"She was a nurse before," Don answered. "There were no details on why she quit that job or whether she was fired."

"If we don't find anything here, we need to look into that deeper."

"I can go do it now if you want."

"Yeah, you would do anything to get out of the woods, wouldn't you?"

"Sure would…even go into a hospital."

"Go ahead. We need to know where she worked and what the circumstances were and whether she has been involved in any criminal cases."

"There was one," Don said. "She killed her husband and it was ruled self-defense. She was beaten up pretty badly. I looked at the file. They were convinced that he beat her up and she was acquitted."

Danny looked at Don. "Why don't we look at the evidence in that case again?"

"Can't put her in double jeopardy."

"But we can see if there is probable cause to believe that she might have killed Mr. Woods and that she now has Mac."

"I'll get on it," Don said and headed to his car.

"I found something," Adam announced.

Danny, Lindsey and Sheldon went over to Adam to see what he had found. It was a small piece of red, reflective glass. "This could have come from a taillight on a vehicle," Adam said.

Danny and the others stared at the glass. "If we can prove that this came from the Avalanche or from Archie Woods' car, we would have reason to believe that there is something hidden around here," Danny said.

"How do we prove that?"

"Car manufacturers don't use the same materials for everything," Lindsey pointed out. "If that glass is specific to one of those vehicles…"

"That Avalanche has pretty special specs. I think if this came from it, we may have enough to get a warrant for that house. It would not be easy to hide an Avalanche."

"And Mac disappeared during the night," Sheldon said.

"Yeah and it is dark as a dungeon out here at night," Danny said. "You can't see anything and I'm sure if she did all this, no one would have known it because they would not have seen it."

"The cover of darkness…and most people don't want to go out and see what is going on if they hear something."

"True. We have to figure out what type of vehicle this came from and we need to see if we can find something else."

"With this being here proves that there was a car here," Sheldon declared. "That means that something happened here."

"We knew that by the paint on that tree," Danny said. "This piece of glass gives us more to go on."

They searched more in the area where the wreck supposedly ended. Sheldon was on the hill again. "It looks like that truck would have sprung a leak," he said. "How could someone hide the fact that a truck came down this hill? Where are all the trees it knocked down?"

"Somebody did some work," Danny said.

"You think that woman could do all this herself?"

"If she was determined enough."

Danny and Lindsey stood at the bottom of the hill and looked up toward Sheldon. "If you look at it, it does kinda look like a little trail there," Danny said thoughtfully.

"Or maybe she even planted some trees on the hill," Lindsey suggested. "Why would she be so determined to hide it?"

"Whatever the reason is, I don't think it's good for Mac. We have to find him."

"If he was in a wreck like this, he must be needing some medical care," Sheldon pointed out. "We need to find him fast."

They searched the entire area as closely as possible but they could not find anything else that indicated that a car had been down there. Lindsey stared at the tree that had been painted. "This should be enough to get a warrant," she said. "It proves that someone was trying to cover this up and that they must have taken Mac somewhere. If the woman lives that close, she is the likely suspect, right?"

"There's no indication that anything is at her house though," Danny said. "I'm going to try again, that's for sure. With this piece of glass, we will have more proof if it comes from an Avalanche or the car that Mr. Woods was driving."

Lindsey looked at the report. "It says he had a Lincoln Navigator," she said.

"Then that should be different than what is used on an Avalanche."

"Right but is it exclusive to one."

"Doesn't matter. These are the only two people reported missing around here."

Mac lay there staring at the fireplace poker. He wanted to get out of this bed and get that poker. He could feel deep, aching pain in both his legs and he could feel that they were swollen and his arm was no better. He was just grateful that she did not break his other arm. At least he still had his right arm. If he could get that poker, he would kill her with it and get out of this place. He had to get out of here. He looked at the window which did nothing to comfort him. He could see little sprinkles of sunlight coming through the branches of those trees out there but nothing else. He would not end up like Archie Woods. He was a detective…the head of the crime lab. He should be able to get away from a madwoman.

Just then, Mac heard the door. He swallowed hard and his pulse quickened a little at the thought of Cassandra coming back in. She came in the door with another tray of food. Mac thought she did not intend to starve him to death but then again, Archie Woods had not been starved either. He stared at her as she came over to the bed. "Well, did you get over trying to escape?" she asked.

Mac did not even dignify that with a response. Cassandra pulled the tray table over to the bed and set the tray on it. She sat down on the side of the bed. "I guess I can feed you this time," she said.

"I'm not hungry," Mac said.

Cassandra glared at him. "Don't say that!" she said. "I cooked this for you and you're going to eat it!"

Mac glared at her. "I said I'm not hungry!"

"Is that so?"

Mac frowned as he saw that insane look in Cassandra's eyes again. "Okay," he said. He did not want her to attack him again. "Okay, I'll eat."

"That's better," Cassandra said. "Turn over on your back."

"I can't."

Mac knew he might as well not have said that. She seemed to get pleasure out of making him do things that caused him more pain. He had not moved since he woke up. He swallowed hard and clinched his jaw as he attempted to just roll over. He groaned as he was flooded by pain. Cassandra shoved his shoulder to make him turn on over. Mac almost yelled out with pain. He did not think he could eat. He thought he would throw up if he did but she would certainly make his pain worse if he tried to resist. He could feel where his legs were broken now. The left one was sorer than the right since it was the most recent break and it was deliberately broken too. He almost cringed as he thought of the pain she had put him through breaking that leg. She had done it in a way that she knew it would cause the most pain and he could not stop her.

Mac looked at Cassandra. "Open wide," she said.

Mac frowned but he opened his mouth. Cassandra put a bite in his mouth which was pretty big. Mac thought it tasted pretty good at first but then he realized it was HOT. He thought he would lose his breath. "Aw, don't you like it spicy?" Cassandra asked. "Men are such wimps. Just like my late husband. He always wanted it spicy but then he couldn't stand it."

Mac forced himself to swallow the peppery bite of soup. His eyes watered but he finally got his breath back. Cassandra gave him a glass of milk. Mac grabbed it and drank almost all of it in one gulp. He looked at Cassandra. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked.

"I'm just trying to feed you," she replied.

"You're torturing me! Look at my legs! Why did you do that?"

"Because you're not going to escape and every time you try, I'll break something else."

Mac glared at her thinking of what he would do to her. "Don't give me an evil look," Cassandra said. "You're at my mercy and if you want to live, you'll do as I say or I'll let you lie here and starve until you do."

Mac felt miserable and hopeless. Cassandra offered him another bite of the soup. "No!" he said. "I am not going to eat that!"

"You will!" Cassandra said. She grabbed Mac's face and shoved him backward as she forced the food into his mouth. He grabbed her with his right hand but he could not do much with her leaning on his sore ribs. "Take it!"

Mac struggled but he could not defend himself and she made him eat the whole bowl of soup. He thought the burning subsided after a few bites and he thought his mouth was numb and maybe all the way down to his stomach but he felt sick. He knew he was probably going to taste that food again. When the bowl was finally empty, Cassandra gave him the rest of the milk. "Now, it's time for your bath," she said as she pushed the tray aside.

"No," Mac said.

"There will be no arguments!"

Mac wondered what she would do to him this time as he watched her go into the bathroom. Would she put him in cold water or hot water? He was sure it would not be a pleasant experience. His mouth still felt numb from the burning pepper and he felt like he had blisters inside but he was sure he did not. He heard the water come on in the bathroom and he began looking around him for a way out but he could not get away from her. He knew she meant it when she said she would break something else. He did not want to endure anything else. Maybe she would actually want the bath to be pleasant…he could only hope.

Cassandra soon came from the bathroom. "Okay," she said.

Mac swallowed hard as she came over to him and began unbuttoning his shirt. "Please," he begged. "Don't do this to me."

"Don't be shy. I used to be a nurse. I've taken care of many people. I even took care of you once."

Mac frowned and stared at her. "What?" he asked.

"I took care of you once. I recognized you when you came to my door yesterday."

Mac could not believe it had only been one day. It seemed like an eternity. "I don't remember you," he said.

"Of course not. I'm not your opinion of beauty."

Cassandra pulled Mac up to sitting ignoring his groans of pain. She got his shirt off and then started on the pants. "NO!" Mac said and grabbed the pants with his good hand.

"I told you not to be shy," Cassandra said.

Mac tried to pull away but she grabbed his sore arm. "Stop struggling," she said sweetly ignoring Mac's cry of agony.

Mac knew he had no choice. He held his arm while she finished undressing him. He felt humiliated and now he was cold. He shivered as she pulled him out of the bed and got him into the wheel chair. He wanted to grab the fireplace poker as they went by but he knew that would not work. He would have to have a plan and be ready for her when she did not expect it.

Cassandra pushed him into the bathroom. Mac could see steam rising from the tub water but he knew that did not mean that it was extremely hot. It was cold in this house. "Now, we're going to get you a nice, hot bath," Cassandra said. "While you soak, I'm going to change your bed."

Mac groaned and almost yelled out with pain as she maneuvered him into the tub. To his surprise, the water was hot but it felt good. He actually relaxed. "I'll be back to wash you when I get your bed fixed," Cassandra said.

Mac closed his eyes as she left the bathroom. He looked at his legs which looked blue below his knees. His arm looked no better and he had bruises all over him from the wreck and from where she beat him with the fireplace tool. He was not sure which one she had used. He did not think it was the poker. He thought he had fever and that meant infection. He had been lying in there thinking that he was feeling sick and he knew he needed medical care badly. If he did not make it through this, it would not be because he was not trying. He might die trying but it would be better than dying here and being dumped somewhere.

When Cassandra was done with the bed, she came back to the bathroom. She came over to the tub and knelt beside it. Mac did not like the way she was looking at him with lust. He was nervous now. "You know, you're quite a handsome man," she said.

Mac did not say anything. He was fuming inside and he did not want to cause her to attack him again. She touched his face and then his chest. "Don't be nervous," she said. She began to wash him and washed his hair first.

Mac's skin crawled as she touched him and she lingered in washing certain areas. Mac glared at her. "You were shy when you were in the hospital too," she said. "You were so handsome then but you loved that wife of yours but I remember you were a detective. I started watching what you were doing and keeping up with you."

Mac frowned. He thought he would think she deliberately got him here if he had not had a wreck with deer. She could not control them. "You've been watching me?" he asked.

"Of course. You're a fascinating man. I would have never dreamed that you would show up here."

Mac had to agree with that. He would never have dreamed he would be in this situation either. Cassandra finally got done with his bath and got him out of the tub through his agony. She dried him slowly and carefully and then took him back to the bed. "Your bed is nice and clean," she said.

Mac looked at the bed. He thought he would be glad to be back in it. "I'll be back to check on you later," Cassandra said after she got him into the bed. She left, taking the wheelchair with her.

Mac stared at the ceiling. He thought that hot water had eased some of his pain but he still could not do anything. His legs and arm ached and he felt hot with fever. He looked at the poker again. He wanted to get over there and get it. He thought it would be a while before she came back so he wanted to make his move now but he knew it was not going to be easy…


	10. Chapter 10

Danny was arguing with the Chief about a warrant. "We know this woman must have had something to do with the disappearance of the victim and now, Mac," Danny declared. "We need that warrant."

"I asked the judge, Messer," the chief replied. "He doesn't feel that you have enough to go on yet to get a warrant. We don't need anymore lawsuits in this city."

"Chief, this is not about a lawsuit. This is about Mac's life! We need that warrant!"

The chief sat down in his chair and thought a moment. "Do you have the glass analyzed yet?" he asked.

"It's being done now. Chief, the tree out there was painted to keep anyone from noticing. That should be enough to say that someone close around there did this."

"I agree, Messer, but when you get the glass, we'll get a different judge and we'll get a warrant."

Danny sighed and paced a moment. "Do you want Mac to end up like Archie Woods?" he asked.

"Of course not. Don't ask me that again. You get that evidence and we'll do something about it. You know the rules, Messer."

"Yes, sir, I do."

Danny left that office and went back to the lab. "Please tell me that you found out that glass is used in Avalanches," he said.

"No, it's not," Lindsey replied.

Danny slapped the lab table. "What about Lincoln Navigators?" he asked.

"Adam is still checking into that."

Danny paced around again. "This is crazy! We have to have some sort of proof so that we can get a warrant!"

"Okay. What about the road? We didn't really examine it thoroughly. Where is the Avalanche? They had to pull it out there. Maybe something fell off or maybe it leaked."

"I think this woman was so careful that there would not be anything out there to find."

"We can't give up."

Danny looked at Lindsey. "I'm not going to give up. Even if I have to obtain evidence illegally, I'm not going to stand here while she tortures Mac to death."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Don and I are going to do what he suggested. We're going to stay out there at night and we're going to find something that wasn't seen before even if we have to trespass."

Lindsey understood how Danny felt. "Just be careful," she said.

"We will."

Just then, Adam came in with the results from his test. "The glass is not specific to any particular vehicle," he said. "It is used in Lincoln Navigators but it's used in other cars too."

Danny felt like every time they had a little hope, it was squashed. He got his phone and called Don. "Anything?" Danny asked.

"Cassandra Ross was fired from her job at the hospital she worked at," Don said. "Patients had complained about her being 'unsympathetic' to their pain and that she made them get up even when they were in severe pain. Four patients died in her care from heart attacks and none of them had any prior heart problems."

"So…what? Do they think she did something to them to cause them to have a heart attack?"

"Those patients had complained about her being cruel to them and causing them pain."

"Don, I'm afraid you and I are going to have to spend the night together," Danny said.

"Just so long as I get to pick the spot."

"We may have to deliberate on that."

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you when we're not talking on a phone."

"Great. When will that be?"

"Soon. I'll come down there."

"Alright."

Danny put his phone away. "It won't be long until time," he said.

"Just don't end up being another victim," Lindsey said.

"We won't. I think we're going over to Farmer John's house and stay over there on his property and see what we can see and maybe we'll go a little further and pretend we didn't know if we can find an area without a fence."

"Danny, just be careful."

"We will. Hug and kiss Lucy for me and tell her I'll be back before she knows it."

Mac was lying on his side now. He stared at the floor and then at the fireplace poker. He had no other way to get to it but to fall off this bed and he knew that was not going to be a pleasant experience. He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths…or as deep as he could take. He opened his eyes and eased over to the edge of the bed. He did not want to hurt his only good arm but he figured there was no way to do this that would not result in excruciating pain. He moved a little closer to the edge and then rolled over the edge and let himself fall to the floor. He groaned loudly as pain shot through his broken limbs. He took a moment to get his breath back and then looked toward the fireplace which was right beside the door. He got up on his elbows and began pulling himself toward the fireplace. He remembered doing something like this in the Marines but he had never done it in pain like this.

Mac pulled himself slowly toward the fireplace with every movement being sheer torture. His head was pounding as well and he knew he still had fever. As he was approaching the edge of the fireplace, he heard the door knob. Mac stopped and gasped. He thought of turning around and trying to get back to the bed but he knew he would never make it in time. He lay his head down on the floor and waited for her to come in. He heard the door open feeling panic inside.

Cassandra walked over to him. Mac could see her feet. "Where did you think you were going?" she asked. "You can't get out of this house."

Mac was relieved that she thought he was going to the door but he wondered what she would do to him. She grabbed his arm and turned him over roughly. She ignored Mac's agony. "Where did you think you were going?" she asked again.

Mac just glared at her. Cassandra dragged him back over to the bed and got him back up on it. She leaned over him. "What did I tell you I was going to do if you tried to get away?" she asked.

Mac swallowed hard. "I guess I will just have to show you that I mean what I say," Cassandra said.

Mac watched as she went over to the fireplace and got one of the tools…the same one she had used to break his other leg. "NO!" Mac yelled. He would not allow her to break his other arm. He would certainly be helpless if she did that.

"Don't argue," she said. "You have to have discipline."

Mac tried to move over to the other side of the bed but Cassandra got onto the bed and straddled him. "Hmmm, this is an interesting position, isn't it?" she asked.

"Get off me!" Mac yelled.

Cassandra grabbed Mac's right arm but he jerked it back. Mac had never punched a woman in his life but at the moment, he forgot that. He drew back and punched her as hard as he could which knocked her off the bed. Mac looked down at Cassandra who was not moving at the moment. He was afraid it would not be long before she would though. He tumbled off the bed on the other side and headed for that fireplace again. He did not reach the fireplace before Cassandra grabbed his ankles and pulled. Mac felt the bones in his legs scrub against the ends that were broken. He cried out with pain but he was not going to let her break his other arm. "Let go of me!" he yelled.

"You're not going to get away from me!" Cassandra screamed as she pulled on his legs again.

Mac thought he would die. He threw up as she began to drag him back toward the bed. He watched the fireplace getting further away. He had to get that weapon. He remembered the one that she had been planning to use to break his arm but he could not stab her with that one. He soon saw the end of the bed so he grabbed the leg of the bed with his right arm. Cassandra jerked at him. Mac would not give in but he thought he was about to pass out but then he felt a pain in his back. He lost his breath and then he did pass out.

When Mac woke up, he could tell that it was night outside the window. He almost whimpered as he remembered what had happened and felt the pain in his back. He thought she must have broken a rib in his back and he was lying on it. He looked toward the fireplace and saw that the tools were still there. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious but he did not think she would be back tonight. He started to roll over but the pain in that rib in the back was worse than the pain in the front rib. He would have to go on or he was going to die here.

Mac got himself into the floor again. He did not know if he had fallen asleep after he got down there or not but he looked toward the fireplace and started dragging himself that way again. He finally made it to the fireplace and got the poker from the tool rack. He stopped a moment to get his breath and then headed back to the bed taking the poker with him. He was not sure where he would hide it but when she came back in the next morning, he was going to have a surprise for her. He got back to the bed and got himself up to sitting. He put the poker under the covers on the bed and then got himself up onto the bed after a long, exhausting try.

Mac lay down on the bed. He was totally exhausted now but he turned over on his back and got the poker to his right side and pulled the covers up over him. Yes, he would have a surprise waiting for her the next day…but now, he had to sleep.

Don and Danny were creeping through the woods between Farmer John's house and Cassandra Ross' house. "I can't believe I agreed to this," Don said quietly.

"You thought it up," Danny pointed out.

Don thought a moment. "Oh yeah. I did, didn't I? But I suggested we stay in the car all night."

"Yeah, but in the car, we can't get out here in the woods."

"Right."

They finally found a place where they could get off John's property in the back of Cassandra's. "Where do you think her property begins?" Don asked.

"I don't know," Danny replied. "Let's just see if we can find something weird."

They trekked through the woods for what seemed like hours until they came to thicker trees. "This must be where hers begins," Danny whispered.

Don looked at him. "Why are you whispering?" he asked.

"Cause I have an eerie feeling."

"You too?"

Danny looked at Don. "I really think something is messed up around here."

"I agree." Don slapped a mosquito on his neck. "And it may start with these maniac mosquitoes."

"Can't you put on some Off?"

"I didn't bring any."

Danny opened the forensics case and took out a can of Off. "Now put on some," he said.

Don sprayed some of the smelly spray on him. "I always hated the smell of that," he said.

"You hate everything."

"No I don't."

"I haven't heard you do anything much but complain since we got on this case. You don't like the woods or nature or anything that isn't made of cement."

"Hey, I'm a city guy and I admit it."

"Anyone can tell that."

They found a good place to settle in and took out the binoculars. Don laid out a tarp before he got down on the ground. "I see a light over there," Danny pointed out.

Don strained to see. "I see it too," he said. "What do you think it is?"

"Not sure but it looks like a light in a window."

"A window? Like in a house?"

"Yeah a house."

"You think she has another house out in there?" Don asked.

"Anything's possible," Danny replied. "If she does, she could be keeping Mac there and she could have the Avalanche out there."

"So what are we going to do to prove it?"

Danny looked at Don. "I'm going out there and doing some snooping around," Danny said. "Even if she gets off on a technicality because of illegal gathering of evidence…at least we will save Mac's life."

"I understand that," Don replied. "But we could get a private investigator to do it if we can't see anything to get a warrant."

"We don't have time for that. You saw what happened to Archie Woods. You want to stand over Mac like that?"

Don sighed. "No but you better be careful."

"I will and stay in touch."

"Right."

Danny headed further into the woods from where they were. He could not hear anything and he did not see anything but woods until he got out of sight of Don. Danny almost ran right into the wall of a house as he was going through the woods because it was completely obscured by the vines and trees and everything else that was growing around here. "What?" Danny said to himself. He shined his light on the wall as he pushed some of the vines away. The house was definitely made of brick. Danny looked up at the house which looked like it was all of two stories high. He could definitely see the faint glow of a light in the top of the house. However, he had no business inside this house and it was not illegal to have another house. He had to find something else. He went around the corner of the house, which was not an easy task since it was completely surrounded by trees. He thought these trees must have been growing for years with no one disturbing them. It was like the house had become a part of the forest. He managed to get to the other corner of the house but he could not see much past it. He went around to the front of the house which was totally obscured with vines and trees. He wondered how anyone could get into this house but he was sure there was a light on in there. He went on toward the house that Cassandra Ross lived in. However, before he got there, he found a barn. It was surrounded by trees as well but not the front of the barn. There was a clearing here and a trail to the house that the woman lived in. Danny stared at it. He wondered if the Avalanche was in that barn. He had to know…


	11. Chapter 11

Danny crept around to the front of the barn which had two doors on the front but they were chained together. He could not get up to any of the windows on the sides because it was surrounded by trees and vines. He went over to the doors but the chain would not budge. He looked toward the other house and started that way on the trail. That house was also obscured by trees and vines. He did not think anyone lived like this unless they had something to hide. He took a picture of the front of the barn and of the trail. He knew it would not stand up in court but he had to have something to get a warrant. He headed back to where Don was. He also took a picture of the lighted window in the second house.

"I have a right to shoot trespassers!" someone said in the darkness.

Danny whirled around and ducked as he heard the voice of a shotgun. He heard the pellets hit the foliage around him. He was on this property illegally so he could not draw his weapon. Instead he just ran. He heard the report of the shotgun again.

Don Flack jumped up from sitting when he heard the shotgun. "Messer!" he yelled not caring at the moment who heard him.

Mac sat up in bed although it was torture. He thought he heard a gunshot. He heard someone yell outside and his heart jumped with hope that maybe someone was about to get him out of here. Then he heard the gun again and realized it was a shotgun. He lay back down. He felt dizzy and sick. He hoped he would have the strength to fight Cassandra when she came back. He wondered what was going on outside but he could not find out. He hoped they could find him in here if they got a warrant to search.

Danny was running as fast as he could through the woods. He finally got in sight of Don. "We're leaving!" Danny called.

Don grabbed everything they had brought with them and when Danny reached him, they began running back toward John's house. "I assume you found something?" Don asked.

Danny was silent a moment as they were running. "No," he answered.

"Then why is she shooting at you?"

"She caught me out there."

Soon, they got back to John's house. John was waiting for them on the screened-in porch. "You fellas find anything?" he asked. "I heard gun shots."

"She saw me out there," Danny said. "She has a barn out there. Everything is obscured by trees but the front of that barn is clear and there is a trail to it and the doors are chained and locked."

"Then she must be hiding something in there," Don said.

"Yeah and it's plenty big enough for an Avalanche and a car."

Don looked back toward that place. "You think she'll take this out on Mac?" he asked.

"I hope not."

Danny and Don went to the car, knowing that it was no use for them to be out here any longer. "Let's get back to that precinct and get a warrant," Danny said. "That woman shot at me."

"But you were trespassing," Don reminded him. "Did she have up a 'no trespassing' sign?"

"I didn't see one."

"I don't think it will work, Messer."

"I have these pictures of that barn and that trail. We're going to look at them closer when we get to that lab and see if there are any tire tracks on that trail."

When they got back to the lab, Danny developed the pictures and took them up to the chief's office. The chief stared at them. "You gotta get that warrant," Danny said. "We have to have it."

"I'll get it, Messer," the chief said. He looked at Danny. "You stay away from that place until I get it. You hear?"

"Yes, sir."

Danny went back down to the lab. He called Lindsey and told her what was going on. "I just hope we can get to Mac in time," Danny said. "He has to be there."

"Oh, Danny, I wish I was there to help you."

"Don't worry. We'll get him out."

Just then Sheldon walked into the lab. "What's going on?" he asked.

Danny put his phone away and told Sheldon what happened. "If Mac is in there, he's probably in dire need of medical care," Sheldon declared. "I want to go with you."

"You're welcome to do that," Danny replied. "We just have to wait for that warrant. Don is getting a team together so he will be ready when we get the okay."

"It could be morning before we get it."

Danny rubbed his eyes. "Don't remind me."

"Why don't you get some rest and I'll wake you when we get the warrant?"

Danny considered that. "Alright but you wake me up the first thing," he said. "I'll sleep in my office."

"Good."

Mac was lying dozing. He did not want to go to sleep but he was still exhausted and he felt that he did not have much time left. Even if he died, he did not want to die here in this place. He felt like his life was waning and draining from him but he would not give up and die here in the hands of this maniac.

Just as Mac was thinking that, he heard the door. His hand tightened around the handle of the poker but he pretended to be asleep. Cassandra walked over to the bed. "They won't find you," she said.

Mac opened his eyes and stared at her a moment. "We'll see," he replied.

Cassandra went back to the door. "I'll be back with your breakfast in the morning."

Mac watched the door close. He hoped he would have a little more strength in the morning. He needed strength to fight her…

Mac was awakened the next morning when he heard the door opening. Cassandra came in with the tray as usual. He watched her come over to the bed. He did not think he felt any better this morning…as a matter of fact, he thought he felt worse. He was burning up with fever and his whole body ached. She came over to the bed with the tray and looked at him. "You don't look too good this morning," she commented.

Mac glared at her. "I'm dying," he said.

Cassandra leaned close to him. "Of course you are."

Mac stared into her eyes and watched as her eyes and mouth went wide when he rammed the poker into her side and shoved upward to make sure it would reach her heart. She was dead before she hit the floor. Mac watched her body fall and he screamed. He had never killed anyone like that before and he did not enjoy it. However, he was free now. He moved over to the other side of the bed and looked down at the floor. He did not know if he could take hitting that floor again but he had to get out of here…

Danny and Don had just gotten their warrant. They were getting into their bulletproof vests and getting ready to go out to Cassandra Ross's house. "There has to be another way into that other house," Danny declared. "I just hope we're not too late to help Mac."

Sheldon was putting on a vest too. He knew Mac could have been lying there with injuries from the wreck and he just hoped they were not serious. Time was of the essence when someone had a broken bone or other serious injury. He knew what could happen.

When they were all ready, they headed for Cassandra's house. Danny sat and wondered what they would find when they got there. What if Mac was already dead? What if she had killed him out of rage for what happened last night? What if she had starved him to death?

Mac was pulling himself across the floor. It was a slow process this morning because he did not have any strength. He saw a pool of blood on the floor from Cassandra Ross. He swallowed hard against the nausea that he felt. He had not seen any other way to get away from her. He looked toward the door. His vision was cloudy around the edges and his eyes felt like they were dry balls inside his head. He stopped for a moment to try and get his breath back. He felt dizzy but he wanted to get out of this room. He pulled himself forward again and again…looking toward the door as his inspiration for keeping on. His breath seemed short and labored.

Mac finally reached the door and struggled to reach the doorknob and turn it. To his relief, the door was not locked and came open. He pushed the door open and looked down the tunnel. It was dark and he remembered that it was a climb part of the way. No matter what he had to do, it would be better than dying here. He began pulling himself along wishing that he did not have to die alone. That was what he thought he was doing…dying. He knew his body was sick…very sick. His legs were swollen and so was his arm.

Mac thought of Claire as he was dragging himself along. He wondered what death had been like for her. He always had. She had died with so many others. He wondered if she had known she was about to die before she was buried in that mountain of debris. Had she been trying to help someone get out of the building?

He thought of being in the war. He remembered being injured and trying to help others even through his pain. He had seen too many people die in his lifetime…

As Mac crawled on, his movements got weaker and shorter. He thought he was reaching his limit. He had thought he pushed himself over his limit many times but now he realized he had never reached it because he had never felt like this. He felt like he was crawling in his sleep. He stopped and looked down the tunnel and could not even make out the walls or the ceiling anymore through his clouded vision. He slowly let his head sink to the floor and stared at the wall. Was this going to be the end for him? He would never have thought he would die like this. He remembered times when he had thought he was going to die. He remembered staring into the barrel of that gun when the guy got the best of him on that rooftop. If that gun had not jammed, he…well, he supposed it did not matter now. He had come a long way since then and now he was shivering with cold and his whole body felt like one big sore but he thought he was starting to feel detached from it.

What would his team think when they found him? He had stood over many dead bodies. He remembered when his former partner had died…what was his name? Bill Hunt. He had crossed the line but he had still been his partner and a good cop at one time. He wondered how many dead bodies he had stood over…how many had he watched die. Now he would die alone. He thought maybe it was ironic…all those people had died alone…unless the person who killed them had stuck around or unless they had died instantly. Mac supposed he had done a lot of good in his life…he had brought a lot of criminals to justice and he had brought closure to a lot of victims…the ones that survived. There were always more victims than the one who died…

Mac coughed and moaned as the pain went through him. He felt so cold…


	12. Chapter 12

Danny, Don and Sheldon were arriving at Cassandra Ross' house. They got out and got their weapons ready along with the team that they had brought along. "Remember, she has a shotgun," Danny said.

They all moved up to the door and got on either side. Danny knocked on the door. "Cassandra Ross!" he yelled. "Open up! We have a warrant to search these premises!"

They waited but did not hear anything. Danny nodded at the officers with the battering ram and they knocked the door in. Don and Danny aimed their weapons inside but of course, they did not see anything. They went inside and were amazed that the house was extremely clean and smelled like bleach. Sheldon came in behind the other officers carrying his doctor's kit.

They searched the whole house but did not find anything. "Let's check the basement," Danny said. They went to the basement door and opened it. Danny flipped the light on as they looked down the stairs into the damp basement. They descended slowly down the narrow staircase.

Danny stared around the basement in disbelief. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"Could we have been wrong?" Don asked.

"No! We're not wrong!"

They walked over to the bed that was there in the basement. It looked very clean. Danny dusted it for prints and found some on the rail of the bed. He sent them to the lab to be matched. He looked around the basement. "I can't believe he's not here," he said. "Where would she take him?"

Don was over at the wall. "Hey, look at this," he said.

Danny walked over to where Don was just as his phone rang. "Messer," he answered.

"Danny, the prints you sent in are Mac's," Adam said.

"Thanks, Adam."

Danny put the phone away. "Those prints belong to Mac," he said.

Don pointed at the floor. "Look at that," he said. "Looks like there's a lot less dust here than everywhere else around here."

Danny squatted and stared at the floor. He inspected the wall and noticed a small crease in the wall that would be totally unnoticeable if one was not looking right at it like he was. "There's something here," he announced.

Sheldon stared at what Danny was looking at. "It must be a doorway," he said. "Looks like just a crack in the brick formation."

"But how do we open it?" Don asked. "Say 'open sesame'?"

Don stepped back a step when the door slid open. "I was only kidding," he said.

"Don't worry," Danny said. "It's not a magic doorway. There's a hidden lever here."

"Good. For a minute there, I was thinking there was something even weirder than before."

They got their weapons ready and went through the doorway. It was very dark in the passageway and they were quiet as they went…wondering what they would find. Would they find Mac? Would he be alive? He had to be.

Soon, they came to a branch in the tunnel and turned to the right since the left only went about five feet. As they got on down the hall, they saw something lying in the floor up ahead. Danny, Don and Sheldon started to hurry faster. "Mac!" Danny said.

They all knelt beside him while the rest of the team went on down to the room. Sheldon felt of Mac's neck. "He's alive," he said.

They turned Mac over slowly which brought a loud groan from him. Sheldon stared at Mac. "My God," he whispered when he saw the condition Mac was in. He got over his shock quickly and got to work however.

"Get a paramedic down here now!" Danny yelled into the radio.

Don went on down to the room to see what was going on in there. Sheldon leaned over Mac. "We're here now," he said.

Mac opened his eyes and looked at Sheldon. They had never seen Mac cry but a tear ran from his eye. He opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something but he did not have the strength. Don came back looking white. "She's dead," he said.

Danny looked at Don wondering why he looked so ashen. How many dead people had they seen in their lives? They leaned over Mac as Sheldon was checking his blood pressure. "You hang in there," Danny said.

Mac just stared at him with emotionless eyes. Sheldon took the stethoscope from his ears and stared at Mac as he finished getting the blood pressure reading. He looked at Mac's left arm and his legs and then looked at Mac's face again.

Just then, two paramedics arrived with a stretcher. "Be extra careful with him," Sheldon said. "He's in a lot of pain."

Don and Danny stood up. "I'll ride with him," Sheldon said.

"You keep us informed," Danny said. "We'll take care of everything here."

"Will do."

Danny and Don walked down to the room. Sheldon leaned over Mac. "Mac, you can make it through this," he said.

"No I can't," Mac replied.

"Yes you can. You're one of the strongest people I know."

"We have to get him onto the stretcher," one of the paramedics said.

Sheldon nodded. They rolled Mac onto his side which generated a loud groan from him and almost a whimper as they got him onto a backboard to lift him up to the stretcher. They laid him gently on the stretcher and slid the backboard out. Mac was shivering. "I'm cold," he said through chattering teeth.

"We're going to get you warm," one of the paramedics assured him. He put a blanket over Mac and they headed out of the tunnel with him as Sheldon was preparing an IV that they would insert when they got him into the ambulance.

They got Mac into the ambulance where he was moaning with pain. "Just hang in there," Sheldon said. He got a tissue and wiped Mac's eyes. He thought Mac must be crying with relief. He had seen a lot of people cry when they were found.

Mac finally got still when they got the IV into his arm. He stared up at the ceiling. He thought he could feel the liquid going into his arm. He looked at Sheldon. "At least I won't have to die alone," he said. "I didn't want to die alone."

Sheldon leaned over him. "You're not going to die," he declared.

"I know how bad it is, Sheldon."

"You're not going to die!"

Mac held up his hand and Sheldon saw it tremble which he had never seen. He grabbed Mac's hand which felt frail in his hand. "Mac, you can survive this," he said.

Mac stared at him a moment. "You guys are the best team in the world," he said. "Tell them that."

"You're going to tell them!"

"It has been my privilege to work with you guys."

"Mac, don't give up. Archie Woods survived two weeks because he was determined."

"I'm tired, Sheldon."

Sheldon had seen people give up before and he thought that was what Mac was doing. "Mac, you can't give up," he said.

"No one depends on me," Mac said.

"Yes we do! We need you at that lab."

Mac looked at Sheldon. "I'm alone," he said. "I'm tired."

"Mac! Listen to me!"

Mac looked up at the top of the ambulance. "NO!" Sheldon yelled but he looked in horror at the heart monitor that was flatlining. "Mac!" He jerked Mac's shirt open and began CPR even though he knew Mac had broken ribs. The Paramedic inserted a laryngoscope into Mac's throat and began squeezing air into his lungs as Sheldon was pumping. "Come on, Mac!" Sheldon yelled. He did not want to watch a friend die. He had not watched Aiden die but he remembered that horrible, cold feeling he had when he realized he had been washing her skull, holding it in his hands. He looked at the heart monitor but it was still flatlined. "Mac, come on!"

Danny and Don were standing in the room where Mac had been kept. "He stabbed her," Don said pointing to the body. He looked at Danny. "A fireplace poker."

"Ouch," Danny replied. "I guess that was the only way he could stop her.

Don shook his head. "I want to hear what he has to say about what went on here. We may never know what happened to Archie Woods."

"I guess we won't. The only two people who knew are dead now. We have to dust for fingerprints and anything else that might prove that he was here too."

"What makes someone do something like this?"

"Don't ask me. I have never been through anything that would make me want to torture someone."

"Me neither."

Danny walked over to the body of Cassandra Ross and squatted down. He knew this woman had tortured Mac until he was almost dead himself. Danny could not really have any remorse for her but he would process the crime scene. He dusted for prints everywhere and found plenty, even on the hardwood floor. He hoped the fingerprints would paint a picture of what exactly happened in the room. They knew Mac had stabbed the woman because there was no one else here and they knew he had crawled out to that hallway too.

Next, Lindsey walked in. "I figured you could use some help," she said.

"I can," Danny replied. He hugged Lindsey. "I'm glad you're here."

They stood and looked at the room a moment. "So this is where she kept him," Lindsey said.

"Yes," Danny replied. "He was out there in that tunnel when we found him. Sheldon went with him in the ambulance."

"Do you know how he is?"

"I haven't heard anything yet."

Lindsey looked at Danny. "What kind of shape was he in?" she asked.

"Bad. Two broken legs, a broken arm and I don't know what else. He was freezing too."

"I just hope he is okay."

They went on with processing the room but both were wondering about Mac but figured Sheldon would be too busy to let them know anything at the moment. Mac would surely be in the hospital a long time if he survived…Danny did not like being in charge. He wanted Mac back at that lab…


	13. Chapter 13

When Danny and the others had finished with the house, they went out to the barn. Don cut the chain from the doors and they opened them. Danny, Don, and Lindsey just stood for a moment with their mouths open. Inside the barn was the Avalanche, but there was also the car owned by Archie Woods…but there was also another car there. Danny pointed. "So, is there another victim?" he asked.

"Could be," Don replied.

They went into the barn and looked at the Avalanche. "Wow, it must have hit that tree hard," Danny said as he was looking at the front of the truck which was smashed in.

Lindsey looked at the Navigator. "It looks like this car rolled," she pointed out. "The roof is caved in."

"The Avalanche must have just rolled down that hill all the way and crashed into that tree."

Lindsey looked at Danny. "Poor Mac. He must have suffered so much."

Don frowned. "I hate to say it but I'm glad that woman is dead," he said.

Danny and Lindsey did not say anything to that but deep down they were too. Danny pulled a piece of bark from the front of the Avalanche. "That ought to prove that it hit that tree," he said. He put it into an evidence bag.

"Did she really think she could hide all this out here forever and get away with this?" Don asked.

"Some people think they can commit the perfect crime," Danny replied. He looked at the unknown car in the barn. "Maybe because they have already gotten away with it before."

"If there was another victim, then where is he?" Lindsey asked.

"He may be buried around here somewhere."

"Then why didn't she bury Archie Woods?"

"Those are all questions that might never be answered."

Danny went to the door of the Avalanche which was just pushed closed. He pulled the door open and looked inside. He could see the deflated airbags and what looked like a little blood on the steering wheel as well. He swabbed the inside of the truck and dusted for prints. He also found Mac's weapon in the truck. He put that into an evidence bag as well as everything else he found in the truck. Then he had the truck loaded up and towed to the lab as well as the Navigator. He and Lindsey turned to the other car next. "Now, whose car is this?" Danny wondered out loud.

"I'm checking missing persons again," Don said. "Adam will let us know if there was anyone else who disappeared out here."

"We certainly didn't get any calls about anymore murders."

"Maybe it was in a different department."

"Could have been."

They took pictures, dusted the other car for prints and gathered what evidence there was in the car. Then it was on its way to the lab too. "We have to get this to the lab and go to the hospital and find out how Mac is," Danny said.

"I'm worried about him," Lindsey replied.

They went back to the lab and secured all the evidence. Don walked into the lab. "There was someone else who went missing out that way," he said. "There was never a trace just like when Mac went missing." He gave Danny the report.

"Curt Flynn," Danny said as he read the report. "Went missing a few months ago. She must have tortured him to death too."

"So where is his body?" Don asked.

"Good question. I guess we're going to have to make a few more trips out there." He put the report on his desk. "But right now, we're going to find out how Mac is."

"I'm with you."

Don, Danny, and Lindsey went to the hospital and to the Emergency Room. They did not see Sheldon anywhere so they went over to the counter and asked where Mac Taylor was. "You can't see him at the moment," the nurse said. "He's in critical condition and the doctors are still with him."

Danny frowned. "Can't we at least know how he is?"

"I don't have any updates on his condition."

Don got his phone out and called Sheldon but he did not get an answer. Now they were really worried. "You think he's okay?" Lindsey asked.

"He was in pretty bad shape," Danny replied.

They went over to the waiting room where there were lots of other people waiting. Don and Lindsey sat down but Danny paced a little. "Pacing like that is not doing anything but making me more nervous and little dizzy," Don said.

Danny looked at him. "I'm too nervous to sit down," he declared.

"Well sit down anyway," Lindsey said.

Danny sat down beside Lindsey and folded his arms. Then he started trotting his leg. He could not be still when he was nervous. He stood up. "Okay, I'm going to walk down the hall and get something to drink," he said. "You want anything?"

"Maybe some water," Lindsey replied. "I'll just go with you."

"I'm fine," Don said. "I'll just wait here."

Danny and Lindsey went down the hall. "Relax," Lindsey said. "Mac has made it through a lot."

"Yeah but there's always that one incident that takes its toll, Lindsey," Danny replied. "You know, a person can reach their limit and then, what do they do?"

"I want to believe that he is going to be okay."

"He's far from okay. He has two broken legs, a broken arm. I don't know what else."

"Broken bones heal."

"Yeah but it takes time and his were not cared for like they should have been."

Lindsey knew what it could mean. If infection had started in Mac's legs, it could already be developing gangrene and he could lose both his legs, not to mention his arm. "He has to be okay," she said.

They got a bottle of water from the machine and went back toward the waiting room. "I don't think I can sit in there," Danny said. "I get fidgety when I get nervous."

"I know."

Danny looked at her. "Am I that bad?"

"Well, you know how you are. So what? Everybody deals with nervousness in different ways."

Danny blew out a breath and then drank half his bottle of water. "I think it's strange that Sheldon hasn't contacted us yet," he said.

Lindsey had to admit she had thought that too. She wondered what was going on in there and she wished Sheldon would take the time to call them or something. "Maybe he thinks we're still busy at the crime scene."

Danny, Don, and Lindsey were still sitting in the waiting room an hour later when Sheldon came in there. He sighed as he came over to them. They all stood up. "Well, how is he?" Danny asked.

Sheldon was silent a moment. "Not good," he said. "He's flatlined three times."

"What?"

"He's lost his will to fight to live. He thinks he has no worth to anyone and that no one depends on him."

"He said that?" Lindsey asked.

Sheldon nodded. "I told him that we need him, that he's important to us at that lab."

"Let me see him," Lindsey demanded. She headed toward the room.

Don and Danny watched after her as Sheldon took her through the doors to where Mac was. "He's unconscious right now," Sheldon said.

"I want to talk to him anyway," Lindsey replied.

Lindsey went into the room. She almost wanted to turn around when she saw Mac but she was going to talk to him. She walked over to the bed trying not to cry. "Mac Taylor," she said. She looked at the cast that was now on his arm and at the tube that was connected to the respirator and the heart monitor. She leaned over Mac. "You listen to me," she said softly. "You're worth a lot to me. You are like my father. You helped me when I first got here and I did and still do depend on you." Lindsey was crying now. "You have to fight, Mac." She was surprised to see a tear run from Mac's eye. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You mean a lot to me and Danny and Lucy. Don't give up, Mac." Lindsey looked at Mac's legs. His feet looked purple and black as well as red and so did his hand that she could see on his casted arm, and they were swollen. She figured that was why they had not put casts on his legs yet.

Lindsey wiped tears off her face as she took Mac's hand in hers. "Don't you give up," she said. "Who do you think is going to watch over Danny at that lab if you're not there?"

When Lindsey came back out to where Don and Danny were, she collapsed into Danny's arms in tears. Danny held her and wondered if Mac would be okay. Don went in to see Mac next. Danny and Lindsey went over to a couch there in the waiting area. "It's awful, Danny," Lindsey said.

"I know," Danny replied. "I saw him in that hallway."

"He has to survive."

Danny looked at Lindsey. "We're going to help him. He needs all of us to be positive right now and help him through this," he said.

"I know. We have to finish that case. Maybe we should go and work some more while we wait."

"Probably should. I want to figure out what happened to that other victim too. When Don comes back out, we'll go. Sheldon will keep us informed."

"Right."

They both sat there thinking about what Sheldon said…that Mac had flatlined three times. He was not in good shape with that going on. Lindsey just hoped he would try to hold on and not give up…


	14. Chapter 14

Danny, Lindsey and Don arrived back at the precinct. Danny and Lindsey went up to the lab and began analyzing the evidence they had collected. "The bark that was in the front end of the Avalanche matches the bark from the tree that was hit," Danny said as he finished that analysis. He leaned on the lab table. "He definitely ran into that tree."

Lindsey shook her head. "What caused him to run off the road?" she wondered.

"Only he can tell us that."

They found that the blood in the Avalanche was Mac's. "You can tell that the airbags deployed," Lindsey pointed out. "So how did he hit the steering wheel?"

Danny thought about that. "Maybe we should look at the Avalanche a little more," he said. "We have to go over it anyway. However this got started was with the Avalanche."

"Right."

They went down to the other lab. They began inspecting the front of the Avalanche. "Looks like some hair here," Lindsey said as she pulled something off the front. "It's short." She looked closer. "Looks like a little blood too."

Danny scowled. "You think he hit…" Then he remembered when he and Flack had almost hit those deer. "He must have hit a deer!"

"A deer?"

"Yes. That night Don and I were going down that road, there was a whole bunch of them in the road. If Don had not been paying attention, we might have been going down that hill. Mac might have been distracted."

"So all this was caused by a wreck? But how did Cassandra Ross know that he would have a wreck out there and she could get him?

"She probably didn't. She might have seen it happen and just got out there and got him."

"What kind of person waits around to see somebody have a wreck so she can capture them?"

"One with way too much time on their hands."

They examined the Avalanche more and found more hair and more fingerprints. Then they moved over to Archie Woods' car. "He didn't hit a tree with the front end of this one," Danny remarked.

"Looks like he might have rolled down the hill," Lindsey replied.

"These types of vehicles are more likely to roll than a truck like that Avalanche."

"Cause they're narrower."

"Right."

Danny went around to the driver's side of the vehicle. "I don't see how she got him out of there," he said. "And I don't see how he survived as long as he did."

"Maybe she knew how to make him survive. She used to be a nurse."

"Maybe."

"She helped him survive so she could torture him?"

Danny shook his head. "I don't know, Lindsey. This woman has some major issues with men going on in her head."

"Tell me about it."

They gathered fingerprints from the car and everything else they could find. Then they looked at the third car. Danny opened the file on the other missing person. "Curt Flynn," he said. "This guy had a blue Mercedes." He looked at the car. "Yep, that looks like it."

Lindsey looked at Danny. "This car doesn't look like it was wrecked," she pointed out.

"So, now we have to figure out what business Curt Flynn had out there and how he ended up in the clutches of this maniac."

"Not going to be easy. That case is pretty old."

"The evidence may still be there though."

They inspected the car which was very dusty since it had been sitting in that barn all that time. However, they found some fingerprints. "Maybe this guy was out there at Cassandra Ross's house for some reason," Danny suggested.

Lindsey looked at Danny. "We have a lot of investigating to do," she said. "Do you really think this woman could do all this by herself?"

"I didn't see any signs of anyone else in that house."

"But could she have had help getting all that stuff down there?"

"Who would help her?"

"What about that farmer who lives out there close to her?"

Danny considered that. "I don't think that guy has anything to do with something like this," he said.

"Even if he didn't help her torture them, maybe he helped her hide the vehicles and maybe he knew it was going on."

"Then why would he help us?"

"Maybe she was holding something over his head."

"Like what?"

"You never know until you start digging. You know, when I was a little girl, I guess we found a hundred arrowheads when we were digging up a garden but no one knew they were there until we started digging."

"I guess that's supposed to mean that I need to dig deeper into Farmer John's life?"

"Maybe we should dig deeper into both their lives."

"Right."

They finished with the third vehicle and then went up to the lab. They analyzed the DNA from the hair and the blood. "Definitely from a deer," Lindsey said as the result came back. She looked at Danny. "So, Mac hit a deer and then what?"

"He must have tried to miss the deer but hit one of them from the way the skid marks look on the road out there. He left the road after he hit the deer and the truck just traveled down that hill…and I would imagine that was a pretty rough ride…and then it slammed into that tree after it picked up momentum from the ride down the hill." Danny paused a moment. "That must be why he hit the steering wheel. The air bag deployed when he hit the deer and then by the time he got down the hill and hit the tree, it had deflated. Those things deflate right away so that they won't smother you."

"So, we've figured out the wreck…but what happened after that?"

"Obviously, she knew the wreck happened and she came out there and found him. She got him out of the truck and took him to her house somehow."

"And then cleaned up that whole mess and towed away the Avalanche all by herself?" Lindsey asked.

Danny considered that. "It does seem like it would take at least two people," he admitted.

"But who would help her do something like this?"

"That's a good question."

They analyzed the prints from all the vehicles. "Mac's prints in the Avalanche," Danny said. "Archie Woods' prints in his vehicle. We have to assume these are Curt Flynn's prints in his car. He has no record. Then there are Cassandra Ross's prints in all the vehicles…" Danny stared at the readouts. "And of course, all our prints who have ridden in or driven the Avalanche. Then there are some unknown prints in the Avalanche and the other two cars as well."

Lindsey looked at Danny. "Now, who else's prints would be in all three vehicles?" she asked.

"Good question. This means that someone else has been in all three of these vehicles and that means it must have been someone who was helping her."

"We need to find Curt Flynn's body."

"It could be anywhere out there."

"But it would have to be somewhere that she could get it to in concealment and if we find out who helped her, we might find that body."

"She didn't care about concealing Archie Wood's body and she even threw his wallet and all that out with him."

"Maybe she didn't dump that body. Maybe her partner in crime did."

"Could be, Montana."

"I'm just thinking that she would have to have a pretty big secret over someone for them to help her do something like this."

"Yeah." Danny went into the computer lab. "Adam, I want you to find out all the information you can on Cassandra Ross and on John…come to find out, he never told us his last name. That guy that lives out there on the same road that the Ross woman lived on. He lives next door although it's not that close."

"Right," Adam said. He began typing in the computer.

"I want to know anything that could connect those two."

Danny went back to the lab where Lindsey was. "It has to be someone out there," he declared. "Mac didn't really know what happened after that wreck, I'm sure."

"Probably not," Lindsey agreed. "Even if he was awake, he might have been too disoriented to even know who was there dragging him off."

"I just hope he'll be able to tell us something to help us solve this mystery. It's giving me a headache."

"Whoever it is has no criminal record because their prints are not in the system."

"Only Mac can shed more light on this…I just hope he remembers something."


	15. Chapter 15

Danny and Lindsey walked into the hospital that evening before they went home. They wanted to see Mac again. When they walked into the room, Mac was still asleep. He looked so pale and it seemed to make him look older. They walked over to the bed and just then, Sheldon walked in. "Hi," he said.

"How is he?" Danny asked.

"He's breathing on his own now. For a while there, I didn't know if he was going to make it but he's improving a little now. He's being treated for the infection in his legs and arm from the broken bones that weren't treated on time. It's pretty bad. He had a high fever when we found him although he felt like he was freezing."

"When will he wake up?" Lindsey asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "No way of knowing that. He was pretty weak when we found him so he's resting and sleeping it off." He looked at Danny and Lindsey. "We found him just in time."

"So, how did that guy, Woods, last for two weeks?" Danny asked.

"I'm not sure but his broken bones were not from the wreck so he may not have had those until later when he tried to escape. And there was also traces of antibiotics in his blood so she may have treated him for a while."

"How would she get her hands on something like that?"

"I don't know but this woman seemed to have a lot of resources."

"She must have something on somebody. But why didn't she try to treat Mac?"

"Maybe she saw him as a threat. He's a cop, you know."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, she knew if she kept him there long enough, someone would find him or he would find a way out."

"I don't understand why no one found Archie Woods."

"Me neither…or that other guy, Curt Flynn. We still have not found out why he was out there but Don is looking into it."

"An unsolved mystery."

Danny sighed as he looked at Mac. "How much trouble is he going to have?" he asked.

"His legs are pretty bad," Sheldon replied. "They'll probably have to do medicated baths for them."

Danny looked at Sheldon. "He's going to be alright, isn't he?"

"Only time will tell. I know he's going to have a lot of recovering to do and therapy."

"I hate to say it, but I'm glad that woman's dead."

Sheldon did not reply to that but he thought he agreed although as a doctor, he would have tried to save her if she had been alive when he got there. He was glad he could save Mac.

While Danny and Lindsey were there in the room, Danny's phone rang. He was starting to feel how many hours he had been awake. He had to get some rest tonight so whatever it was, he would have to take it up in the morning. "Messer," he answered.

"Danny, this is Adam. I've got some news for you."

"Okay."

"I found out that Cassandra Ross had a child about twenty years ago and another about 10 years ago."

Danny just stood there a moment. "Does it say who the father is?" he asked.

"No. The father didn't sign the birth certificate either time."

"That's definitely some news. Keep it until morning. I have to get some rest and then I'll be back on this in the morning."

"Okay."

"What?" Lindsey asked as Danny put his phone away.

"Cassandra Ross has two children," Danny answered. "There's no father on either of the birth certificates."

"Hmmm. Maybe that is how she can get someone to help her."

"The thing is, if she has a ten year old, where it is?"

"Oh, this case gets bigger all the time."

"But we have to get some rest," Danny declared. "We'll work on this tomorrow."

"Right, but who can sleep with all these questions?"

"You and me."

Lindsey smiled. "Let's go then."

They looked at Sheldon. "Take care of him," Danny said.

"I will," Sheldon replied. "I'll let you know when he wakes up."

"Good."

Danny and Lindsey left the hospital and headed home. "You think she has two kids held over someone's head and that's how she gets them to help her?" Lindsey asked.

"Or maybe the two kids don't even have the same father," Danny pointed out.

"Could be. So she's using her children as barter."

"But where are they? And whose kids are they?"

"I think we should start with the farmer out there."

"But he said that she just moved in there six years ago," Danny said. "She moved in when her parents died."

"That's what he says," Lindsey said. "How do we know she wasn't living back there in that house that's hidden from view?"

"I wonder if I'm going to get some sleep tonight."

"We have to. We can't think straight without it."

"Right."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning, Danny was at the lab at 7am. He could not wait to find out more about that case. He knew there must be something tied to the fact that Cassandra Ross had two children and the fathers were not listed on either birth certificate. He went into his office where Adam had left the folder on his desk. He quickly opened the folder, his curiosity at its peak. He read over the information Adam had found and which hospital she had the babies at, which she had them both at the same one. He wanted to track these kids down and get DNA samples but he knew that would be a lot of red tape…but he wondered if either of them had mental problems since their mother clearly did. He just wondered who the father was and he wondered if there was only one father. He thought maybe this was why she hated men…they did not want anything to do with the babies. He wanted to know if they had paid for her medical expenses. Wow! He had a lot of digging to do.

Soon, Lindsey came in and she was just as eager to figure out the case as Danny was. "Have you found out which hospital she had them in?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes," Danny replied. "We only know she had two children because of her medical records."

"Right."

"You think they still have those records after twenty years?"

"They should. They're not supposed to get rid of birth records."

"Now that everything is going onto computers, I guess they are putting all this into them."

"I suppose. It's spooky, isn't it? Everything on computers? What happens when some hacker gets into the system and everything is shut down?"

"Well, let's try to have a little optimism, Montana."

"Oh, Danny. People have hacked into important stuff."

"My whole life is not on a computer so I am not worried much."

"Computers control the electricity and everything else but then again, we have lived without electricity for days in Montana."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they had the warrant for the birth records, they went to the hospital where Cassandra Ross had her children. They would start there and find out who the kids were and where they wound up if they could and then maybe they could track them down and find out who their father was…or fathers were. They went over to the hospital where the births took place and they were directed to the records department.

Danny and Lindsey walked into an office that was painted white and did not have many other colors in it. "Wow, I think I would go blind if I had to work in here," Danny remarked.

"Let's just get this over with so we can find out something on this case," Lindsey said.

They walked over to the desk where a woman was sitting typing on a computer. "Excuse us," Danny said as the woman acted like she did not even see them.

The woman looked up at them as though she were bored stiff. "Can't you see I'm busy?" she asked. "If you'll wait just one minute, I'll get to you."

Danny showed her his badge and so did Lindsey. The woman looked at the badges and then stared at them a moment. "Okay, since you put it that way…" she said.

"We're looking for some old birth records," Danny said. "We need to know some things about these kids who were born here." He gave her the warrant.

The woman stared at it a moment. "I'll be right back," she said.

Danny and Lindsey sat down to wait. "Well, at least she wants to cooperate," Lindsey said.

"Yeah, hopefully," Danny replied.

"She's going to get the records, right?"

"I hope."

Soon, the woman came back with a file folder. "That should be everything you need to know," she said.

"Thanks," Danny replied. "We'll be the judge of that."

Danny and Lindsey sat down at a table when they got to the waiting area to look at the files. "Adam's right, there is no father listed on the birth certificate," Danny said. "And she gave both kids her last name."

"Marty and Christine," Lindsey said. "Marty is the oldest one and Christine is the younger."

"So where are these kids now?"

"They must be in foster care somewhere."

"Or they were adopted."

"I wonder what made her have to give them up," Lindsey said.

"I think if we find out the answer to that, we might figure out why the father or fathers are not mentioned on the birth certificates."

"They didn't want anyone to know they were having sex with a mentally deranged woman?"

"You never know but we're going to find out."


	16. Chapter 16

Danny and Lindsey went back to the lab where they got Adam to look up the two kids in the system to see if he could find either of them by the birth certificates that they now had. They had to wait for that information before they could go any further. Danny decided they would go out there and see Farmer John again. He was sitting on his porch when they arrived. "Back again, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," Danny replied. "We need to ask you some questions."

"Go ahead, but I don't know anymore than what I told you."

"Did you know that Cassandra Ross had two children?"

John stopped rocking. "Children? No I didn't. When did she have any children?"

"They are about twenty and ten years old now."

"If she had any, I hope they were not left with her."

"But you never heard her talk of a child or anything?"

"No, and I didn't talk to her if I didn't have to. I didn't want to be near that woman. I hate to say it but I'm glad she's gone."

Danny thought he could understand that. "Have you ever noticed her having any visitors?" he asked.

John thought a moment. "I did see someone over there once," he said. "It was a maintenance truck. Had toolboxes in the back of it and a lot of tools."

Danny wrote that down. "Did you see who got out of the truck?" Lindsey asked.

"No, I just saw the truck there once when I went by."

Danny looked at Lindsey thinking that they knew a maintenance man that Mac had talked to the night he disappeared. He had been at one of the rental houses. "Thanks for your time," Danny said to John.

Danny and Lindsey went back to the car and headed out. "You think that maintenance man helped her do all this?" Lindsey asked.

"Could have," Danny replied. "Maybe he's the father of those two kids and she was holding that over his head to make him help her do all this."

"Why wouldn't he just let it go and tell it since it's been this long?"

"I don't know. There's just something strange about this case."

"I guess we're just going to have to go and talk to this maintenance man. Maybe he wanted to help her to get rid of his boss," Danny suggested.

"But why? Everyone speaks so highly of Archie Woods," Lindsey said.

"Maybe the maintenance man was jealous of that."

Danny drove to the office of Woods' Construction Company. He and Lindsey went inside where the secretary was sitting at her desk. "Hi," Danny said. "We're looking for your maintenance man."

"David?" the secretary asked.

"If that's his name."

"Yes, his name is David Free."

Danny wrote that down. "Can you tell us where he is?" he asked.

The secretary typed in her computer. "He is out at Mrs. Robinson's house today," she said.

"Has he ever mentioned a woman named Cassandra Ross?" Lindsey asked.

"Not to me."

Danny and Lindsey walked out and started out toward the neighborhood where Mrs. Robinson lived. Danny's phone rang while they were on their way. Lindsey answered it. "Lindsey, I found where Marty Ross is in college," Adam said. "He's going to New York University. Get this: he's going to school for nursing."

Lindsey was quiet a moment. She looked at Danny. "Marty Ross is going to New York University for nursing," she said.

Danny considered that a moment. "Like mother, like son, huh?"

"I hope not." Lindsey turned her attention back to the phone. "What about the daughter?" she asked.

"I have not found anything about her yet," Adam replied. "I'll let you know as soon as I find something."

"Great."

Lindsey ended the call and put Danny's phone back. "So, her son is in college at NYU," Danny said thoughtfully. "For nursing. So where is Christine Ross?"

"Obviously she was not allowed to keep either of the children," Lindsey said.

"What if the other one doesn't even have that last name anymore?"

"We can still track her down somehow. If social services took her, then they should have a record of where she went and where she is now."

"Right. We just have to figure out where she went from the hospital."

When they got to Mrs. Robinson's house, David's truck was there. Danny and Lindsey walked up to the door and knocked. Mrs. Robinson soon opened the door. She looked at Danny. "I remember you," she said. "You're a detective, right?"

"Yes," Danny said. He showed her his badge and Lindsey showed hers too.

Mrs. Robinson stared at Lindsey's badge and then looked at her. "A lady detective, huh?" she said.

"Yes," Lindsey replied.

"Well, what can I do for you?"

"Is David, the maintenance man here?" Danny asked.

"Yes, he is…although I don't think I would call him much of a maintenance man."

Danny looked at Lindsey. "Get Mrs. Robinson here somewhere safe so that if this guy decides not to cooperate, she won't be in any danger," he said.

Danny went on into the house while Lindsey took Mrs. Robinson out to the car. "Just stay here for a few minutes, Ma'am," Lindsey said.

"Is that maintenance man guilty of something?" Mrs. Robinson asked.

"We're about to find out."

Danny went into the house where David was working on the kitchen sink. "David Free?" he said.

David looked at Danny. "Yeah?" he asked.

Danny showed him his badge. "I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About Cassandra Ross."

Suddenly, David threw a pipe wrench at Danny and took off running out the back door. Danny barely missed getting smacked in the face. He took off after the guy and noticed that he still had a wrench in his hand. Danny drew his weapon. "Stop!" he yelled.

David kept on running across the street and out into another part of the neighborhood. Danny was trying to keep track of him and he saw him dart into a house. Danny went to the door, but it was locked. He hoped David was not planning on holding these people hostage. He eased around the corner of the house and looked toward the front of the house and saw that David had come out the front door and was now running down the street again. Danny went after him. David kept running until he got down to the tennis court. He went around that and headed toward the fitness center of the neighborhood. Danny kept after him.

Lindsey saw that David was giving Danny a workout. She helped Mrs. Robinson back into the house. "Keep your door locked," Lindsey said.

Lindsey went to the car and drove down to the fitness center. She saw Danny go into the building. She got out of the car and went after him…

David was running through the women's locker room. He went around and came back out into the weight room. As Danny came out that door, David threw a weight at him. Danny dodged and landed in the floor. He looked to see David running toward the other door now. As David was about to go around the edge of the building, Lindsey was there with her weapon. "That's far enough," she said.

David put up his hands as Danny came out the door and put handcuffs on him. "You're in good shape for a maintenance man," he remarked.

They got the man back out to the front of the building and called Flack to come and pick him up. "Why did you run?" Danny asked.

"I don't want to talk," Free said.

"Alright, but you'll talk at the precinct. We want to know what happened to Curt Flynn and how he wound up out there at Cassandra Ross's house."

Soon, Flack arrived and they all went back to the precinct, bringing the maintenance truck with them. They would examine it to see if it had any traces or anything that would lead them in the right direction. When Flack had David Free in an interrogation room, Danny went in to talk to him. "First, we need a DNA sample," he said. "We're already running your fingerprints."

Danny took a swab out and looked at Free. "Open your mouth," he said.

Free glared at him but he opened his mouth. Danny swabbed it and then gave the sample to Lindsey who was waiting outside. Then Danny sat down at the table. "So, what do you have to say?" he asked.

"Okay!" Free said. "I'm sick and tired of this stupid secret anyway! Yeah, I had a child with Cassandra Ross. I was stupid, okay? I paid all her medical expenses, but that wasn't enough for her…oh, no! She had to start threatening me that she would tell my wife."

"Why were you out messing around with a woman like that?"

"Twenty years ago, she wasn't insane. She was a beautiful woman and she worked at the hospital and I was the janitor there. We just had a mutual attraction and one thing led to another and lo and behold, she got pregnant. After that was when I found out what kind of woman she really was. I certainly didn't have another one with her!"

Danny stared at him a moment. "So, you don't know who had the other one with her?" he asked.

"I don't know and I don't care. The poor sap. He must have just let it be known and got out of that situation, but me…oh, I had to be in it for the long haul. I didn't want my wife to know it."

"And you helped her capture these men?"

"I didn't capture anyone. She did that. She just wanted me to help her dispose of the vehicles. I just pulled them down there to that barn."

"But you also disposed of bodies for her too, right?"

Free rubbed his face and sighed. "Yes, I did. I dumped Archie Woods' body but I didn't kill him."

"You might as well have. You knew what she was doing to him and you knew what she was doing to Detective Taylor. Why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want anyone to know that I had a child with that woman."

"What about Curt Flynn?" Danny asked. "Tell us about him."

"I don't know him. He was an insurance salesman or something and he came to her house at the wrong time. I just pulled his vehicle into the barn. I don't know where he was."

"Did you dispose of his body?"

"It's buried out there in the woods. I don't care if you take me to jail. At least I won't have to put up with that woman anymore."

"Well, you could have come forward and told someone," Danny said. "Why didn't you make that choice?"

"Stupid I guess. Just lock me up. I've been a prisoner for twenty years anyway."

Danny looked at him a moment. "Were there any other victims?" he asked.

Free shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "If there were, I was not involved with any others. She was always holding me up for money and things like that but she just started making me help her like that recently."

Danny almost felt sorry for the guy but he figured he would not get life since he did not have anything to do with actually killing those men. "Well, good luck," he said.

Danny left the interrogation room and went back to the lab. Lindsey was running the DNA sample. "That guy has been through a lot," Danny said.

"He could have stopped it years ago," Lindsey replied.

"Yeah, but I guess sometimes people don't see the way out."

"What would you do if you had a baby with someone else? Would you try to hide it from me?"

"Hey, I don't have any babies with anyone else."

"But what if you did and didn't know it?"

"I don't know but this guy knew about this child."

"Right. I just wonder how Mac is doing."

"Me too." Danny looked at the evidence they had. "Do we really need to go and disturb that kid at school for his DNA?"

"I wouldn't think so. It might just cause him a lot of trouble."

"That's what I was thinking."


	17. Chapter 17

Danny and Lindsey arrived at the hospital just as Sheldon was coming from Mac's room yawning. "Hey, don't start that," Danny said. "You'll have us all yawning."

"It's been a long night and day," Sheldon replied. "How are things going?"

"Well, we found out who had been helping Cassandra Ross. That maintenance man had a child with her about twenty years ago and she had been holding that over his head all this time."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. And the other child doesn't have the same father according to David Free. It doesn't really matter though because he was the one helping her. We finally got that case solved and Curt Flynn is buried out there in the woods somewhere."

Sheldon shook his head. "Probably never be found," he said.

"Probably not because I guess he's buried out there among all those trees somewhere. Who could find anything out there?"

"The case is solved anyway."

"How is Mac?" Lindsey asked.

Sheldon paused a moment. "It's hard to say," he said. "He hasn't woke up and he seems so weak and…" Sheldon frowned. "He just looks so frail lying there."

"You think he's going to make it?" Danny asked.

"I don't think he has any will to live. When a person loses that, there's not much you can do for them."

"Why would he lose his will to live?" Lindsey asked.

"All he would say in the ambulance was 'I'm alone' and 'I'm tired'. Maybe he thinks he doesn't want to live life anymore."

Danny folded his arms. "Day in and day out chasing some criminal, standing over dead bodies at three in the morning, no one to go home to." He sighed. "It can be depressing."

Lindsey remembered before she and Danny had gotten together. It had been a lonely life and Mac was older than them. She thought maybe he thought he did not have any hope of finding anyone to share his life with. She had never thought of growing old alone. She had always thought she would have someone to grow old with and now she had Danny.

Danny and Lindsey went into Mac's room. When they saw Mac, they knew what Sheldon had been talking about. Lindsey wanted to cry. Mac looked like he had lost weight since he had been here, even though he had not been here but a day. "What's happening to him?" Lindsey asked.

Danny frowned. He did not have an answer to that. He thought Mac did not even look like himself. He looked pale. Danny looked at the heart monitor and it seemed to be showing a good rhythm but slow. He leaned over to Mac. "Hey," Danny said. "We solved the case. You'll never guess what we found out."

Danny and Lindsey looked up at the heart monitor as it seemed to speed up just a little. Danny looked at Lindsey. "See?" he said. "Nothing gets his heart pumping like a mystery." He looked at Mac. "You'll just have to wake up if you want me to tell you anymore."

"Danny, you're just torturing him now," Lindsey said.

"You think he can really hear me?"

"Obviously."

"Then why isn't he waking up? Is he just possuming?"

"I don't know."

Danny looked at Mac. "It worries me," he said.

"Me too."

They stayed a while longer and then left. Sheldon was about to go back into Mac's room when a woman came to the door. "Hi," he said.

"Is this Detective Mac Taylor's room?" the woman asked.

"Yes it is. Who are you?"

"I'm Rhonda Jernigan. I thought I would come by and see him a moment if that's okay."

"Sure."

"How is he?"

"It's hard to say right now."

"Well, maybe I can cheer him up."

Rhonda went into the room. She almost gasped when she saw Mac. He did not look like the man who had come to her office a few days before. She walked over to the bed and stared at him a moment. She sat down on the side of the bed. "Hello, Detective Taylor," she said. "You remember me? Rhonda Jernigan?" She set the vase with one yellow rose in it on his table. "I brought you a rose to look at when you wake up." She looked at Mac and touched his hand. "I hope we can have dinner together sometime when you get out of here." She looked at the heart monitor which seemed to be projecting a pretty good rhythm. "I think you're strong enough to pull through this. It's hard to keep a good man down."

Rhonda stood up and looked out the window of the room. "You have a good view here," she said. "You should think of all the things you're missing, including all that pollen that's still flying out there but it's supposed to rain a lot tomorrow and the next day so I guess that will take care of the pollen." She looked at Mac and leaned over him. "Do you know that we live in the same building? I can't believe we live in the same building and I've never noticed you before. I must be too occupied with my own life if I didn't notice a man like you. You just get yourself out of this hospital and we can get better acquainted." She stood up and looked at Mac a moment longer and then she went out the door.

Sheldon was standing beside the door. Rhonda looked at him. "He's not doing very well, is he?" she asked.

Sheldon shook his head. "He seems to have lost his will to live," he said.

"I'm sorry this happened to him. I was hoping we could have dinner together and then I heard that he was missing and now this." Rhonda gave Sheldon one of her cards. "Let me know when he wakes up. I would like to visit him again. Maybe I can help him."

Sheldon nodded. "Maybe you can. I'll let you know."

Sheldon watched Rhonda leave. He smiled and shook his head as he went into Mac's room. He was sure she could help Mac think he had a reason to live. She was quite an attractive woman. He walked over to Mac's bed. "Well, I think you should wake up," Sheldon said. "That is quite a beautiful woman there."

"I know."

Sheldon almost jumped when he heard that reply. He leaned over Mac. "Mac?"

Mac opened his eyes slightly and looked at Sheldon. Sheldon smiled. "It sure is good to see you awake," he said. "I have to call the nurse." Sheldon got the caller and told the nurse that Mac was awake. He leaned over Mac again. "How do you feel?"

"Terrible," Mac mumbled.

Sheldon held his hand. "We'll be with you through this," he said.

"I know." Mac closed his eyes and grimaced slightly. He thought he was hurting all over. He was not sure when he woke up. He remembered hearing Danny and Lindsey talking and he remembered…Rhonda Jernigan. What was that she had said? He definitely remembered hearing her talking to him and knew that it was her but he thought she had told him her name.

Soon, a nurse came in. "Well, it's about time you woke up," she said. "How do you feel?"

Mac felt like he was in another world. "Pain," he said.

"We'll fix that. The doctor will be here soon." The nurse checked his blood pressure. "At least that is better than this morning." She checked his pulse as well. She listened to his heart and everything and checked his legs.

Mac wondered if he would be able to walk again but he did not have the strength to ask right now. He just waited for the doctor to come in and tell him whatever news he had to tell. He thought about Rhonda. She was definitely pretty but Mac remembered why her marriage had broken up. He did not want to get involved with a woman who wanted to spend all his money, but then again, she was older now and she had her own career. He supposed he could give her the benefit of the doubt…if she would have him. He did not think he would be going out on any dates any time soon. But then again, she had come to the hospital to see him and that meant she did not mind seeing him at his worst. He was not sure that made him feel better. He was sure he did not look his best lying here in this bed. He certainly did not 'feel' his best. The last thing he remembered was stabbing Cassandra Ross.

Mac closed his eyes against that memory. Just something else for him to dream about on those nights when he actually went home and got into bed. He did not want to kill her, he just wanted to get away but she was not going to let that happen as long as she was alive and he could not fight her. He was not sure how he got out of that room after he killed her. He remembered pain though. It was much like the pain he was having now.

Soon the doctor came in and examined Mac's legs which was not at all a pleasant experience for Mac. He did his best not to kick the man since he was trying to help him. Sheldon sat beside the bed and patted Mac's shoulder trying to reassure him. Mac gripped a handful of the sheet with his right hand. Once the doctor was done examining his legs he looked at the arm too. "They're looking better," the doctor finally said. "We'll give you something for that pain." He began writing on the clipboard and said something to the nurse.

Mac was glad when he saw her coming back with a syringe full of liquid to go in that IV. He watched her put it in and then drifted with it. He did not care if he dreamed…


	18. Chapter 18

When Mac got out of the hospital, he was in a wheelchair of course. He was not at all happy as Sheldon wheeled him out to the ambulance which would take him home. "Cheer up, Mac," Sheldon said. "You're going to be fine."

Mac did not reply. He did not know why Sheldon did not just let him die. He would not be going through all this misery now. He just sat there as they reached the ambulance. After all, he could do nothing else. He rolled his eyes as they got him onto a stretcher and folded his arms as they put him into the ambulance. He stared at the ceiling of the ambulance with contempt. He would be at home but he would have to be cared for. He could do nothing for himself. He could not walk at all with two broken legs and his left arm was no better although he could move it around now.

Sheldon sat on the bench beside Mac. He wished he could cheer Mac up but he had tried everything. Mac just lay there staring as though he did not want anyone talking to him. "Mac, everything will get better," he said.

Mac looked at him with a frown. "But look at me right now," he said. "You're not the one having to go through all this. You won't have to go through all this therapy and being taken care of."

"Mac, you have your life to live. You're going to live it again."

"Who said I wanted to!"

"Well, I, for one, was not going to sit there and watch you die and not try to save you! I cared enough to help you. Now, why can't you accept that you are still alive and have a life to live?"

"Don't talk to me about this anymore."

The ride to Mac's apartment was silent. When they got there, Sheldon and the Paramedic got Mac into the wheelchair. "Thanks," Sheldon said.

Sheldon pushed Mac into the apartment building and got into the elevator. They went up to Mac's apartment and Sheldon pushed the wheelchair in. "I don't need a nurse maid," Mac said.

"You can be crabby if you want," Sheldon said. "I'm not going to leave you right now."

"You will if I tell you to!"

Sheldon was about to lose his patience with Mac. He hardly ever lost his patience but Mac was really pushing it. "Where do you want to be?" he asked. "You want in bed? On the sofa? In your chair?"

"I'll just stay in the wheelchair for now," Mac said. "I can't do anything anyway."

"Do you need anything?"

"If I do, I'll get it myself. I can push the wheelchair around."

"Good. Then maybe you won't have to act like such a baby."

Mac glared at Sheldon. "I didn't ask for your help."

"You're right, you couldn't ask for my help. I gave it freely because I care about you. You could at least say thank you."

"For what? Helping me get into this chair?"

"I know you don't mean all that so I'm going to overlook it."

"You think you know me. Everybody thinks they know everything about me and they don't know anything!"

"Well, maybe that's because you hide all your feelings and don't want anyone to know the real Mac Taylor."

Mac frowned. He had to admit he never wanted anyone to know much about him. He usually hid his personal feelings about things and never wanted anyone to know what he did when he was not at work or whether he had a girlfriend or anything. "I'm sorry," he said.

Sheldon patted Mac's back. "You're going to be okay, Mac," he said. "The infection is gone and you're healing well. When the bones are mended, you'll be out walking around again like you always have. The bones will be stronger where they were broken than they were before."

Mac nodded. "I'm just frustrated," he said.

"I can imagine."

"Thanks for your help but I think I can probably manage here in the apartment with the chair."

"How are you going to get up those steps to your bedroom?"

Mac sighed. "I suppose this apartment isn't equipped for a handicapped person."

"It's not embarrassing to need help."

"It is for me. I don't like not being able to take care of myself."

"Everyone needs help sometimes."

"I suppose you're right but I don't have to like it."

"So, do you want to stay in this chair or do you want in bed? You need to rest."

"I guess since I couldn't rest in that hospital."

Sheldon helped Mac get up to his bedroom and into bed. Mac groaned. "When is that pain ever going to stop?" he wondered out loud.

"It won't be much longer," Sheldon replied.

Mac sighed as he settled down on the bed. "I'm starving for some pizza and some water," he said.

Sheldon smiled. "Pizza?"

"Yes. I want a supreme pizza with everything on it."

"I'll order one then."

"Thanks."

"I'll bring you a bottle of water too."

Mac closed his eyes and tried to relax. It did feel good to be home. He had been so angry when he found out he woke up and he would be in a wheelchair. He remembered when Danny was in that wheelchair. He thought Danny had a whole lot more to live for than he did. He thought when this was over, he was going on a vacation and find something out there in the world that he might want to live for. He was tired of the lab being his whole life. He spent a lot of time there because they were a little shorthanded since Stella left. He had been looking for someone to replace her but he had not decided on a replacement yet although he had narrowed it down to a few. He wished he had narrowed it down to one now that he was in this predicament.

Mac fell asleep somewhere in his thoughts because he woke up later when the doorbell rang. He thought he smelled pizza but he had been thinking that for a few days. He had been craving it so bad that he could smell it most of the time. Soon, Sheldon came into the room with a pizza box. "You ready for this?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Mac said. He sat up slowly. "I'm starving."

"I met someone down the hall."

"Who?" Mac asked as he was opening the pizza box. He closed his eyes and inhaled the fragrance of the pizza. "Finally, I am not dreaming that smell."

Sheldon almost laughed. "Why does everybody crave pizza when they get out of the hospital?"

"Because they don't give you any junk food in there."

Mac opened his eyes and took a piece of the pizza out with the cheese stretching and steam rising. "Oh, it's nice and hot," he said. He looked at Sheldon. "Who did you say you met in the hall?" he asked as he took a bite. "MMM, that is delicious."

"I met Rhonda Jernigan in the hall," Sheldon said.

Mac almost strangled on his pizza. He stared at Sheldon. "You did?" he asked.

Sheldon smiled at Mac's reaction. "Hmmm, she must have made quite an impression on you."

Mac swallowed his first bite. "What did she say? Why was she in the hall?"

"Seems she lives in this building and she was wondering if you were back home."

Mac looked at his pizza. "What did you tell her?" he asked and took another bite.

"I told her you were here and you would probably need someone to look in on you from time to time."

Mac gave Sheldon a sideways look. "Why does everybody think I need help?" he asked.

"She seemed to be anxious to come and look in on you," Sheldon said with a mischievous smile.

"Thanks a lot." Mac leaned back on his pillow and took another bite of pizza. "So, when is she coming?"

Sheldon smiled. "You surprise me sometimes. You mean you don't mind?"

Mac shook his head. "Now, why would I mind that beautiful woman coming to see me?"

Sheldon almost laughed. "Okay, I think I'll leave it at that."

"So when is she coming?"

"I'm not sure. I think she wants to stop by this evening some time. I told her you would probably need someone to stop by and check on you. She's a professional, after all."

Mac looked at him. "She was also a murder suspect."

"Yeah, but you proved that she was innocent."

"She's a psychologist. Do you think I need a shrink?"

Sheldon sighed. "It couldn't hurt to talk to someone sometimes," he said. "What's wrong with talking? Just because you talk out your feelings with someone doesn't mean you're crazy. Sometimes you just have to talk things out so you can let it go."

Mac nodded slightly. "I know," he said.

"I can leave her an extra key if you want."

Mac looked at him. "Why would I want her to have a key? I don't know her."

"Well, Mac, she's a professional with her own clinic. You need someone to check on you and she's right here in the building and I might not be able to come back if we get a big case going."

"You really think I should give a key to my apartment to a woman I don't even know."

"Okay. I'll just call you this evening and if she comes over, I guess you can figure out how to get to the door."

Mac smiled slightly. "If she needs to get in, she can get the landlord to let her in and you can give her my phone number."

"You need a ramp to go down these steps here," Sheldon said. "I'm going to try and get one for you."

"Thanks. Just make sure it's not too steep."

"Don't worry." Sheldon looked at his watch. "I'll be back this evening if I can and I'll bring that ramp. If I can't come, someone will."

"Thanks." Mac looked at him. "I'm sorry for being such a grouch."

"I understand."

Sheldon left. Mac continued to eat his slice of pizza and thought about Rhonda Jernigan. He hoped she did not come to the apartment because he could not get to the door to let her in. He could not even get to the bathroom. He hoped he would not have to manage that before Sheldon came back. He felt sleepy but he wanted to eat some more of this pizza before he slept.

When Mac had eaten all he wanted, he lay down and stared at the ceiling. He hoped he would be able to walk again. It had even been a possibility there for a while that he could lose his legs. They had been pretty badly infected for a while. He had to admit he felt a lot better now than he had before. He hated the way that situation had ended but he had not seen any other way out. He had told Don everything he knew. He had not known who took him from the truck because he had been unconscious. The only person he had seen was Cassandra Ross. If anyone had helped her, he did not see them. He had woken up in the basement of her house and then she had moved him to that other house. He had not really known what was going on the whole time but he knew he had not seen anyone else.

Mac closed his eyes. Yes, when he was well, he was going to take a cruise somewhere. Maybe he would take a Hawaiian cruise. Hawaii was beautiful and peaceful…he hoped. He wanted to go there and relax. He could lay on a beach and do nothing until he was sick of doing nothing. Maybe he would meet someone over there. Then again, he would not be going to meet someone. He would be going to get away from it all and relax…


	19. Chapter 19

Mac woke himself up with a loud snore a while later. He hated waking up like that. He wondered if he had been snoring all that time he was asleep. He usually snored when he was lying on his back and he could not lay any other way right now. He hated lying on his back. He stared at the ceiling feeling bored. He also had to go to the bathroom. He looked toward the bathroom and wished he could get into that chair to get in there but he did not think he could get into it alone. Mac frowned as he thought of that bedpan and urinal. He supposed he should be glad they were available but he did not have to like it. He decided he would just wait until Sheldon came back.

The pizza box was still sitting on the bed and there were still a few slices in there. Mac thought he would get fat if he kept lying here eating like this. He was beginning to think Sheldon was right…he did not need to be here alone. He could not do anything for himself with two broken legs and a broken arm not to mention the pain of those broken ribs. The pain medication helped pretty well though.

Mac looked out the window but he could not see much except the top of the next building and some sky. He was definitely going to take a long vacation after this. He was starting to feel claustrophobic. It was quiet in the apartment…too quiet. He grabbed the TV remote and turned the TV on. At least it could make some noise and make him feel less alone.

Mac lay there watching the TV until he heard someone knock on the door. He turned the TV off and sat up. He could not go to the door so he knew that must not be Sheldon. Then his phone rang. "Hello," he answered.

"Detective Taylor, this is Rhonda Jernigan."

Mac was surprised for a moment. "Hi," he said, finally.

"Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Mac almost sighed. Now that he was sitting up, he needed to go to the bathroom even worse but he did not want her to help him do that. "Uhm, I guess I'll be okay until Sheldon gets here," he said.

"If you need anything, I'll be glad to help if you can let me in."

"You would have to get the landlord to let you in. I can't get to the door."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want me to help you with anything? Just some company maybe?"

Mac considered that. "That would be nice," he said.

"I'll be right in then."

Mac put his phone away. He looked at how he was dressed, in shorts and a sweat shirt. He could not wear pants with two broken legs wrapped in casts. He lay back down and pulled the blanket over him. Why was he so nervous about her coming over? He almost laughed at that thought. Because she was pretty, that was why.

Mac lay there waiting until he finally heard someone unlocking the door. The landlord came in first. "This lady says you asked her to come in," he said. "Just making sure."

"Yes," Mac said. "I can't get to the door."

"See you later."

The landlord left and then Rhonda came into the bedroom. Mac resisted the urge to clear his throat. He always did that when he was nervous. "Hi," Rhonda said with a smile. "Are you feeling okay?"

Mac nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling okay," he said. She was even beautiful wearing a pink t-shirt and jeans and even sneakers.

"Do you need anything?"

Mac wanted to say that he needed to go to the bathroom but he would not say that. He would wait for Sheldon. "I'm okay for now," he said.

Rhonda looked at the pizza box. "I see you've had the usual hospital craving," she remarked.

Mac smiled. "Absolutely."

"You just need someone to talk to? Must get lonely lying here unable to get up."

"Yes it does."

"Are you in a lot of pain?"

"Some of the time but I have the pain medicine. It helps some." Mac looked at his watch. "It's almost time for it now."

"I'm sorry if this is awkward. I just want to help if I can."

"I'm glad you're here. I was starting to feel claustrophobic."

Rhonda pulled a chair over beside the bed and sat down. "Is there anything you want to talk about?" she asked. "I know you went through quite an ordeal."

Mac looked at the ceiling. "I try not to think about it," he said.

"I'm sorry."

Mac looked at her. "No, I just don't usually talk about things."

"Do you have any nightmares?"

"I haven't today. I had a few while I was in the hospital."

"You want to talk about them?"

Mac considered that. "Well, it was mostly that when I woke up, I thought I was still at that house."

Rhonda nodded. "You can talk to me about anything."

Mac stared at the ceiling. "I killed her," he said. "I stabbed her with a fireplace poker."

"The woman who was holding you captive?"

Mac nodded. "I didn't know any other way to get away from her. She would have killed me."

"You've killed people before, haven't you?"

Mac nodded. "Yes, but this was just different."

"Why?"

"I guess because when I killed her she wasn't hurting me or threatening me."

"But she had done things to you, right?"

Mac nodded. "She broke my leg." Mac closed his eyes as he remembered that pain. "She would have broken my other arm if I had not gotten away from her."

"It was self defense. You couldn't just lay there and let her keep torturing you. Anyone would have done the same thing."

Mac looked at her. "You think you would have?" he asked.

Rhonda considered that. "I have not been in that situation so I don't know how I would feel but I am sure I would do what I had to in order to get away."

"I know I've killed people before but I have never stabbed anyone like that."

"What's the difference?"

"I don't know. It just seems more barbaric or cruel." Mac frowned. "I guess I have stood over more than a thousand people and investigated how they died and who killed them but it never gets easier or less disturbing."

"I can't imagine that but you do a great service in that you bring justice to victims and their families. You put criminals in jail. People like you are very valuable."

"Sometimes I don't feel valuable." Mac sighed. "I really wanted to die. I was bitter after I woke up because of this."

"I haven't seen many people in this condition who weren't a little bitter."

"I felt like I didn't want to go through the hassle of therapy and all that. I just wanted to die."

"But your friends saved your life."

Mac nodded. "I talked pretty mean to them."

"I'm glad you're still here. I want to have that dinner with you. As a matter of fact, I think I might bring some stuff over tonight and make us a nice dinner if you don't mind."

"Sounds good to me but I might have to eat here on the bed."

"That's fine. The company is what's important anyway. Right?"

"Right."

"What do you see yourself doing in the future?"

Mac considered that. "I don't know," he said. "I mostly just live from day to day and I don't think about the future much. I intend to go on a long vacation when I get over this."

"Oh really? Where are you going?"

"I'm planning to take a cruise somewhere like Hawaii."

Rhonda smiled. "That sounds very romantic. Are you taking anyone with you?"

"I hadn't planned on it."

"Leaving yourself open to suggestions?"

Mac looked at her and then smiled. "I suppose. I have to hire someone else to work in the lab first and then I'm going to leave it with them for a while."

"Oh, I see. A vacation would probably be good for you. It's good to get away and enjoy something without worrying about work."

Mac nodded. "I haven't done that in a long time."

Rhonda stood up. "Well, I'm going shopping for our dinner tonight," she said. "Is there anything I can do for you before I go? Do you need anything?"

"I need to take my medication."

"Okay."

"It's hard to open the bottle with one hand and a broken arm."

"Absolutely," Rhonda said. She looked at the medication on the night stand. "You take both of these?"

"Yes."

Rhonda took the medication out for Mac and gave him a bottle of water. "Is that all you need?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you," Mac said.

"I'll be back later then."

Mac watched her walk from the room. He thought maybe he should take her on the vacation with him. He rolled his eyes with that thought. He did not even know her. He heard the door close as Rhonda went out. He wondered what kind of dinner she would be fixing. He also wondered when Sheldon would be there. He did not know how much longer he could wait to go to the bathroom. He looked at the wheelchair which was sitting beside the bed. He wondered if he could get into that chair himself. He was not sure he could. If he had both his arms, he thought he could…or if he had one of his legs. He sighed. That woman knew what she was doing when she broke his other leg. She was incapacitating him in a way that she knew he could not escape but he had proven her wrong. He had managed to get off that bed and make his way to that fireplace but that was different than now. Getting into that chair was another situation entirely and he did not want to hurt himself again now. When he was trying to escape, he did not care about injuries.

Mac stared at the chair. He supposed he could try and if he realized he could not do it, he could stop before he hurt himself. He sat up which was not at all a pleasant experience with his broken ribs and sore back. He looked at his legs. He could tell now that he had taken that pain medication because it was starting to affect his head. He felt just a little dizzy but he moved over to the side of the bed. Since his legs were casted below his knees, he could bend his knees. He sat on the side of the bed and thought about what he was about to do and how he could do it. He would have to go into the chair with his right side first since that was the arm he could use. He swallowed hard as he was nervous. He did not want to fall and injure himself.

Mac decided he was going to stop being afraid. He would eventually have to get up and he wanted to start today. He made sure the wheelchair wheels were locked and then he grabbed the right side of the chair with his right hand. Then he maneuvered himself into the chair. He sat there a moment expecting some explosion of pain since one of his feet touched the floor but everything seemed to be okay. He sighed heavily with relief as he realized he had made it into the chair. Now, he had to get into the bathroom. That would really be a challenge to get in there and do what he had to do. He supposed if he could get off that bed, he could accomplish the other too. He needed a handicapped bar in his bathroom. He wondered what all Sheldon was going to get for him. He would be in this predicament for a long time.

Mac unlocked the wheels on the wheelchair and rolled himself into the bathroom. He was glad it had a wide doorway. He knew if he fell in here while he was here alone, he would be stranded until someone came. That fact made him even more nervous but he wanted to learn to take care of himself. He supposed he could have waited until someone was here with him at least but he was already in here now so he was going to get relief. He did not want to wait anymore.


	20. Chapter 20

When Sheldon walked into Mac's apartment that evening, he was surprised to smell food cooking. He set everything down that he was carrying and headed for the kitchen. "Mac?" he called, wondering if Mac was trying to cook something and if he was…how did he get into that chair?

Just as Sheldon was nearing the kitchen doorway, Rhonda came from the kitchen. "Hi," she said.

Sheldon sighed with relief. "I thought Mac was in there," he said. "I was wondering how on earth he got into that chair."

"I'm just fixing some dinner for him and me. I told him I was going to have dinner with him so he wouldn't be so lonely."

"Okay."

"Oh, and by the way," Rhonda said a little irritated. "Do you know where I found him?"

Sheldon stared at her. "Where?"

"He was sitting in his wheelchair asleep. He had gotten off that bed, into that chair and had gone to the bathroom here all alone but he couldn't get back on the bed."

Sheldon shook his head. "I'm going to tell you something about Mac…that is the most stubborn man you will ever meet."

Rhonda smiled. "I think I'm beginning to see that."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, he seems to be, but he was asleep in his chair. He could have fallen out of it."

"I'm going to have a talk with him."

"Instead of doing that while I was here, he waited until I left."

Sheldon went to Mac's room while Rhonda went into the kitchen. Sheldon walked into the bedroom and folded his arms. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

Mac looked at him. "What?" he asked. He was lying on the bed now.

"You know what. Do you know you could have fallen and injured yourself worse and could have been lying there for hours?"

Mac folded his arms and stared at the ceiling. "Don't give me a lecture," he said. "I had to go to the bathroom."

"Why couldn't you have gotten off the bed while someone was here?"

"Because I didn't want to."

"Pride, pride, pride. You don't have to have so much pride. I'm glad that home health care nurse will be here tomorrow."

Mac looked at him. "A nurse?"

"Yes. You have to have someone look after you. There will be a nurse here with you all day starting tomorrow."

Mac sighed. He knew he needed someone around but he did not have to like it. "Thanks."

"I got those ramps for you to go up and down those stairs in there. That should help you to get around your apartment."

"Thanks. I appreciate everything you've done for me."

"You're welcome."

Sheldon left the room. Mac stared out the window. It was starting to get dark now. He supposed there was one good thing about his situation now…his allergy was gone. They had given him something for it in the hospital. He could smell whatever Rhonda was fixing for dinner. He knew it had tomatoes in it because he could smell them. He was getting hungry too.

Sheldon soon came back into the room and told Mac that he would be back later. "I'll spend the night here," he said, "if you don't mind."

Mac looked at him a moment. "No, I don't mind. I would rather not be alone."

"Okay. Tomorrow morning, the nurse will arrive and I will be at the lab."

Mac nodded. "Okay."

"I'll let you and Rhonda have your dinner," Sheldon said with a smile.

Mac shook his head. "Don't even think that," he said.

"Hey, she's an attractive woman. I wouldn't blame you if you decided to make her more than a friend. She obviously likes you."

"Okay, Sheldon."

Sheldon chuckled. "I'll see you later."

Mac rolled his eyes as Sheldon left the room. They always wanted to tease him. Soon, Rhonda came into the room with a tray. She smiled. "I hope you like this," she said. "I thought some good beef soup would make you feel better."

Mac sat up as she set the tray on the bed. He looked at the soup which looked delicious. It had chunks of meat in it rather than ground meat. "Wow, that looks good," he said. He looked at Rhonda. "You cook a lot?"

"It is another one of my many talents," Rhonda said with a smile. "I love to cook. I'll be right back."

Mac's mouth watered as he smelled the soup. He thought if it tasted as good as it smelled it would be glorious. There was also a roll to go with it and a glass of tea. Rhonda soon came back with another tray with her food on it. "Have you tasted it yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," Mac said. "I was waiting for you and smelling that wonderful aroma."

Rhonda smiled. "I hope it's as good as it smells."

"I'm sure it is."

Mac got a spoonful of the soup and blew the steam away. As he was about to take the bite, he remembered when Cassandra Ross was forcing him to eat that soup with the extreme pepper. Mac swallowed hard as he looked at the soup and then at Rhonda. "Is there something wrong?" she asked as she was taking a bite herself.

"No," Mac replied. He put the bite of soup in his mouth and it was just as good as it had smelled and he did not taste a hint of pepper except bell pepper. "That is good."

"Thank you." Rhonda stared at him a moment. "Why did you hesitate?"

Mac thought she must be a very good therapist. He chewed a moment. "She force-fed me," he said.

Rhonda's mouth dropped open slightly. "Soup?"

Mac looked at her. "Yes, but…"

"I am sorry. I didn't know."

"You couldn't have known. I didn't tell anyone." Mac looked at the soup. "This is good and I like it. She had made it extremely hot to torture me and she forced me to eat it."

Rhonda just stared at him a moment. "I won't make soup again until you're ready for it," she said.

Mac looked at her with one of his tender looks. "I appreciate what you've done and the dinner is delicious."

"I'm glad."

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Mac tried not to think about the situation he was in. He could not really remember everything about the wreck but he remembered waking up lying on the steering wheel. He also remembered waking up in that wagon with hay. It was like grabbing at bits and pieces of a puzzle and trying to put them together because there were so many gaps. He certainly remembered the end of the situation. He had not dreamed about it so far but he figured that was on the way.

When they were done eating, Rhonda took the trays to the kitchen. "That was very delicious," Mac said when she came back in.

"Thank you," Rhonda replied. "I'll be more careful from now on when I'm fixing you something to eat."

"Don't worry about that. I shouldn't have even told you."

"Yes you should. You need to talk these things out."

"I suppose I do but I don't want you to feel sorry for me."

Rhonda put her hands on her hips. "Now, when did I say I felt sorry for you?" she asked.

Mac smiled. "You haven't."

"Well, don't accuse me of that then. I don't intend to feel sorry for you. I just want you to get better." Rhonda looked at her watch. "I have to go. I won't be able to be here tomorrow because I have to work but if you need someone to talk to, you can call me any time of the day or night. You have my number."

"Thank you," Mac said.

Rhonda smiled and then left. Mac sighed. He had to admit he enjoyed having her around. Maybe he would consider taking her on the cruise with him. She was certainly beautiful and he wondered what she would look like in a bikini. Mac cleared his throat with that thought. He would have to get a new person hired in that lab before he went running off on some romantic cruise. How did he even know she would want to go? She had seemed interested though and she came and cooked dinner for him. He supposed they were getting started at something. He would just see how things worked out from now until he was ready to go. He would not be going anytime soon because he had to get well first. He hoped things would work out…


	21. Chapter 21

It had been three weeks since he got out of the hospital. Mac's broken legs were not well but he was back at work. He was able to sit up now and he did not feel as bad. He could even put a little pressure on the legs now but not much because it caused a dull ache in the bones. He had been seeing Rhonda the last three weeks too. She came over once a week and made dinner for them. She was nice company…and Mac smiled as he thought of how pretty she was. She also helped him talk out his emotions and problems. He felt like she cared about how he felt and she had told him. They had not gone any further than friends so far, although he had thought about kissing her more than once. He could not exactly follow her to the door.

Mac had also hired a new CSI for his team. Her name was Jo Danville. They had quite a first meeting since there was a dead body in the lab. Jo was from Virginia and she was a true Southern Belle. Mac liked her personality. She was a mother to two kids…and she even tried to mother him and the other members of the team at times. She did not even think he should be at work but he informed her that he could make his own decisions about how he felt and whether he wanted to be at work or not. He just sat in the office anyway and worked on paperwork and helped with cases from there. He even analyzed evidence some of the time. He could sit in the lab at the table and do analysis.

Mac was sitting at his desk thinking about the cruise he was going to take. It was going to be relaxing and fun. He was leaning back with his eyes closed. He scowled and opened his eyes as he felt that unbearable, unreachable itch that occurred right in the middle of his leg between his knee and his ankle. It drove him crazy! And he could not get any relief from it when it came. He had shaken his leg hoping the cast would shift just enough to scratch it, but no, it did not. He thought if he could stand up maybe it would stop itching but he could not do that. It made him want to scratch his head for some reason. He thought maybe that nerve was connected directly to his brain and just itched up there too. It was like that itch that one gets in their ear and cannot scratch it but if they shift their tongue just right, they can scratch it that way. Mac shook his head. His legs usually took turns having that itch but it occurred on both legs.

Just then, Jo walked into Mac's office. "So, how are you feeling this morning?" she asked with her usual cheerfulness.

Mac looked at her with one of his tolerant looks. "Do you really want to know?" he asked.

Jo looked perplexed. "Of course I do," she said. "What's wrong?"

"Have you ever worn a cast?"

"No."

"Well, they're itchy and the itch always occurs in a spot that you can't reach," Mac said.

"Oh is that it?" Jo pondered that a moment. "Maybe you could get something down in there to scratch it."

"I don't think so." Mac sighed. "I'm tired of sitting in this chair. I'm tired of not walking. I'm tired of not getting to do my job."

"Don't worry. It will be over before you know it."

"I hope you're right about that."

"Is there anything you need?"

"A surgical saw? So I can cut this cast off?"

Jo folded her arms. "I don't think I can get that but I can get you some coffee," she said.

"That would be nice. Thanks."

Jo left the office. Mac looked out the window. He was glad he only had three more weeks to wear these casts. His arm was no better than the legs. Itches started in it and seemed to travel from one end to the other. He felt like clawing his skin off some of the time but so far he had managed not to do that. Nothing helped because no feelings could travel through the cast and make the itch feel like it was being scratched.

Mac rubbed his eyes and sighed. _Only three more weeks, _he kept telling himself.

Jo was very competent, and Mac knew he could leave the lab in her hands along with Danny and they would take care of things while he took his cruise. He would be gone for three weeks. He had not asked Rhonda to go yet and had not even mentioned it to her much. He wondered if she would want to go on a cruise with him since they had not really gotten past the "getting to know you" stage yet. He thought he would like to see her in a bikini.

Jo noticed a slight grin on Mac's face when she walked back into the office. "Here you go," she said and gave Mac his cup of coffee.

"Thanks," Mac said and sipped it.

Jo stared at him a moment with one of her inquisitive looks. "What's that grin about?" she asked.

Mac looked at her. "What grin?"

"Oh come on. With a grin like that, you must be thinking about something."

Mac smiled slightly. "If I am, I'm not telling you what it is."

"Oh Mac. Why not? Are you afraid I will find out something about you that no one else knows?"

Mac raised his eyebrows. "And just what would that be?"

"That you possibly have a personal life outside this lab."

"Why are you so concerned about that?"

"Because a good man like you needs a good woman and doesn't need to be married to his job."

"I'm not anymore. I was at one time but I am going to be taking a vacation when I get these casts off and get well enough."

"Oh really? Where to?"

"I haven't really decided yet."

"Can't you give me a hint?"

"Probably to an island."

"I hope you do and I hope you have a little fun while you're there."

"Oh, I intend to."

"Really? Is there some lucky woman who is going with you?"

"Lucky?"

"Of course. Any woman who could get you to take her somewhere like that would be lucky."

Mac scowled at that comment. "I don't know if that is a good comment or not." He looked at Jo. "What are you getting at?"

"What do you mean? I pay you a compliment and you think I have an ulterior motive? You're a good man and any woman would be lucky to have you."

"Well, okay then."

Jo turned and left the office. Mac stared after her. How did she know he was such a good catch? They had not been working together long. He knew how she was though. She tried to get into everyone's personal life because she was a caring person and wanted to help people if she could. Mac did not want her snooping into his personal life…or what existed of it. He kept that to himself. That was why it was called a "personal" life…it was personal.

Mac sat and worked on paperwork for another hour. He was yawning so much, he was getting aggravated at himself but he was still taking some pain medication which helped with the ITCH too. He rubbed his eyes and looked out of his office. He did not see anyone in the hallway. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes as he relaxed. Just a few minutes…

"Mac Taylor!"

Mac jumped as he heard someone say his name. He opened his eyes to see the chief standing in his office. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Chief," he said. "I…"

"I didn't come in here to scold you, Taylor," the chief said. "I was wondering how you're doing."

Mac thought about that a moment. "I'm doing fine. I just got so sleepy I had to rest a few minutes."

"You been working on paperwork all day?"

Mac nodded. "Yes and I just got sleepy."

"Why don't you go home?"

"I don't want to. I would rather be here than sitting there in that empty apartment all day. Besides, I want to work now so I can take my vacation."

The chief nodded. "Well, just take care of yourself. How do you think this new CSI is going to do?"

"She's good," Mac said. "I think she will do fine taking care of things while I'm gone and Danny will be helping her too."

"As long as things get taken care of around here."

"I'm sure they will."

"Take care, Taylor."

The chief left and Mac sighed. He was glad the chief did not chew him out. He did not think he could take it today. He was tired, he was itching and sleepy and he was just fed up with being in this wheelchair. Just as he was thinking that, he saw someone come from the elevator. He was surprised to see Rhonda coming toward his office with an officer escorting her.

Mac sat up and made sure his jacket was straight. Rhonda smiled as she came to his office. Mac nodded to the officer that she was okay. "Hi," Rhonda said. "I was wondering if you would like to have dinner tonight."

Mac wondered why she did not just call. "Sure," he said. "I'm sure I'll be getting out of here a little early tonight."

"Great. I'll pick you up. What time do you think you'll leave?"

"Probably around six."

"I'll be here."

"It's pretty hard to get this wheelchair into a vehicle."

"We'll manage," Rhonda said with a smile. "I'll see you then."

"Okay."

Mac watched her leave. She was dressed in a blue suit that had a knee length skirt. She looked over her shoulder at him and he cleared his throat as she smiled at him. He wondered what she wanted out of their relationship. Maybe she wanted a second chance at love. Maybe he wanted a second chance at love. Maybe they could give that to each other. He hoped she had changed since she was with her first husband. He did not want to go through anything like that but maybe she was more mature now and knew what she wanted in life. She seemed to be well-grounded in what she was doing as a profession and she seemed down to earth. He wanted someone like that and maybe she would understand his nightmares and his feelings for Claire.


End file.
